BART IS HOLDING three events over the next two weeks to solicit comments from the public on a proposed new BART Police headquarters near Oakland’s 19th Street station, agency officials said Aug. 14.
This week’s events will be held on the concourse level of the 19th Street station on Wednesday from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and on Thursday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. The events will be held outside of the paid portion of the BART system.
Next week, the public can offer input on Tuesday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at BART’s headquarters, located at 2150 Webster St. in Oakland. People can also provide input through a BART survey that can be found at https://bart.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5i41rN4aOWcKs18.
The survey opened Aug. 14 and ends Aug. 28. People at each event will also have an opportunity to fill out the survey.
BART officials are seeking a location for a new headquarters because affordable housing and office space is planned for the Police Department’s current headquarters near the Lake Merritt station in Oakland. BART may have workers renovate an existing office building near the 19th Street station as the new headquarters, where BART Police would maintain key functions of their department.
The location near 19th Street would provide officers with direct access to the system’s red, orange and yellow lines. It would also be close to the agency’s headquarters on Webster Street.
BART officials are considering a public lobby and a community room as part of the new headquarters. The idea for a new headquarters also includes creating a safer and more efficient place for people to retrieve property and request documents and reports.