BART officials were joined by Berkeley leaders on Monday afternoon to celebrate the completion of new bicycle friendly improvements at the North Berkeley station that will make it easier for pedestrians and cyclists to use the facility.
New ramps compliant with the American with Disabilities Act, more lights, more bicycle parking, and pedestrian friendly intersections were installed around the North Berkeley BART station using funds from BART and the state.
BART District 3 Director Barnali Ghosh, who represents the area, spoke about the benefits the project will have on passengers who may now choose to take BART because of its ease and access to amenities.
“These improvements will make it safer and easier for today’s residents to access our stations and make it easier for future transit-oriented development residents to explore and enjoy this wonderful neighborhood,” said Ghosh. “I used to work as a landscape architect, so I know the amount of labor and partnership and commitment and investment that goes into making projects like this a reality.”
The effort to upgrade the facilities at the station started after the findings of a 2015 BART study on the characteristics of the North Berkeley station.
According to the study, walking was the most common way people traveled to the stop followed by driving and then cycling.
BART created a station access policy that created a goal to increase the active accessibility, or walking and biking rates, into its stations from 44% in 2015 to 54% this year.
The link between public transit and environment
Berkeley Mayor Adena Ishii said she was determined to continue working to make transportation easier for her constituents because she sees a link between fighting climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by using public transit.
“Transportation is the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Berkeley, and if we want to be a true climate leader, we must make it easier for people to live in vibrant, transit connected neighborhoods where they can walk, bike and take BART,” Ishii said.
The mayor said the city wants to build more affordable housing and while plans are in place at North Berkeley, city officials would meet the following day to determine if Ashby station could also benefit from new transit-oriented development.
“… If we want to be a true climate leader, we must make it easier for people to live in vibrant, transit connected neighborhoods where they can walk, bike and take BART.”
Mayor Adena Ishii
The pedestrian and bike project received $3.4 million from California’s Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program, a fund which is intended to help build more improved infrastructure and affordable housing across the state. Alongside state funds were BART Measure RR dollars, a previous local revenue measure for transportation infrastructure.
BART also partnered with Bridge Housing and Satellite Affordable Housing Associates, two housing developers, to help fund the project. The collaboration will help continue to transform the area around the North Berkeley station by adding a transit-oriented development where over 600 parking spaces will be eliminated and replaced by approximately 700 apartment spaces.