Berkeley - El Cerrito Corridor Access Plan

The state, region, cities of Berkeley and El Cerrito, and BART have shared goals and policies for building new developments. These goals and policies prioritize building developments near high-quality public transportation that provide housing or create jobs. This helps address our global climate crisis and regional housing crisis.

Studies confirm that people who live close to transit are more likely to use it for work, school, errands, and recreational trips than those who live further away. Building high-density housing on BART’s land will:

• Create more BART riders in the long term.
• Strengthen BART’s financial outlook.
• Allow for more people to live in our region without the same amount of increase in traffic and unhealthy emissions.

El Cerrito’s and Berkeley’s adopted plans both support developing land near BART stations because they supply much-needed housing for all income levels while reducing the need to drive and enhancing community vibrancy.

Use the slider bar on the image below to see before and after photos of a transit-oriented development at the Fruitvale BART station.

Most of the options to improve access to BART go well beyond the station areas. BART received funding from the state and federal government to develop this Corridor Access Plan in recognition that improving the transportation network across multiple cities at a larger scale would be more feasible and effective than improving the area around one station alone. The Corridor Access Plan will look at how to make the most of existing transit service, bikeways, walkways, and parking, and at new and innovative technologies to enhance access to BART.

BART will select private developers to build the new developments at each station. The developers are funding a station access plan that will identify circulation and infrastructure needs in the immediate station area and on public streets nearby. The goal of the station access plans is to ensure that when development is built residents and workers in the surrounding communities can continue to access BART. Any options identified in the Corridor Access Plan that require improvements around the station will become part of the station access plans.

The Corridor Access Plan will consider proposals to enhance transportation throughout the corridor, like the bike connections shown on the left image. Station Access Plans will guide specific improvements at each station, like the diagram on the right showing proposed improvements to Lake Merritt station.

We are not starting from scratch! BART, in partnership with the cities of Berkeley and El Cerrito, has already engaged with communities for years to discuss development of the land at Ashby, North Berkeley and El Cerrito Plaza. Our activities with communities have included online community workshops, in person open houses and town halls, and events at the stations. The cities have also adopted plans over the years focused on improving the transportation network for bikes, pedestrians, public transit and cars.

The Corridor Access Plan will incorporate many different plans and policies that already exist. This plan will be consistent with Berkeley’s and El Cerrito’s adopted community plans as well as BART’s Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) and Station Access policy goals and performance metrics. Visit BART’s Corridor Access Plan outreach webpage for a full list of reference material that BART and the cities are using to develop the plan.

BART is involved with many different projects and planning efforts at or near the BART stations along this corridor. The Corridor Access Plan will coordinate with overlapping efforts and incorporate planned changes to access at or near these stations. They are:

• Goals and Objectives for development of the El Cerrito Plaza parking lot, which were developed through more than six community events and City Council meetings in 2019.
• Joint Vision and Priorities for development of the Ashby and North Berkeley parking lots, which are currently in development through the Community Advisory Group process with the City of Berkeley.
• North Berkeley Bicycle and Pedestrian Improvements in and around the BART station area, which is anticipated to be completed by Summer 2022.
• A bikeway through BART’s western parking lot at Ashby station, connecting Prince and Woolsey Streets, which is anticipated to be completed by Winter 2023.
• Adeline Corridor Roadway Reconfiguration Feasibility Study funded by a federal grant to support the City of Berkeley in evaluating the feasibility of redesigning the space on Adeline Street next to the Ashby station. The Study will evaluate temporary weekend closures and vehicle lane reductions to potentially accommodate the Flea Market, as conceptualized in the Adeline Corridor Specific Plan.

Managing parking near BART stations

BART understands that some people will still need to drive and park. BART is exploring options with the cities and private property owners to expand parking possibilities beyond dedicated parking for BART riders on the Richmond line, such as:

• Shared parking: Parking in the station area that is shared with residents of the transit-oriented developments.
• Parking in existing lots or garages near the station area: Public parking opportunities in Berkeley and El Cerrito, private property owners who are interested in managed parking on their land.
• Parking on-street near the station area: Managed by Berkeley and/or El Cerrito to ensure parking availability of one to two spaces per block.
• Other possibilities: New technology that enables a resident to rent-out parking on their property during times and days they don’t need the space.

Goals of approach to parking

• Make efficient use of existing parking options by pairing with complementary uses. For example, residents generally need parking weekday evenings and on weekends while BART riders generally need parking on weekdays during the day.
• Avoid costly investments in parking that is under-utilized. Most BART parking is vacant about 70% of the time.
• Enable cities, property owners, and residents to earn some parking revenue. New technology allows for the flexibility to dynamically pair people who want parking with those who have space.

BART rider parking would be built in a garage in order to make the development align with locally adopted goals for housing and community amenities. Each parking space costs $60,000 to $80,000 to construct. Money is also needed annually to operate, police, maintain, and repair parking structures.

Historically BART’s replacement parking for its developments was funded by:

• City-directed redevelopment funds, which is no longer available because the state dissolved this function in 2011.
• State and county grants, which are more limited than before and very competitive. Plus, many state programs supporting transit-oriented development prohibit use of funds for parking.
• Ground lease revenue from the development.

Grant funding options and priorities

The Infill Infrastructure Grant (IIG) is the only known source that will fund parking as part of the development. The maximum amount per development is $30 million. Some challenges to consider:

• This money can fund other aspects of the development, such as affordable housing, sidewalks, bikeways, lighting, and so on. Any money spent on parking means less funding available for much needed housing and improvements to sustainable station access.
• This competitive grant is funded directly from the annual state budget, so its availability will vary each year depending on the fiscal health of the state and priorities of the legislature.

BART and the cities of Berkeley and El Cerrito need to weigh priorities for these limited funds. More money for parking means less money for housing, transforming the Adeline corridor into a safer, more vibrant space, Ohlone Greenway improvements, or better pedestrian crossings on San Pablo Avenue.

Revenue from developments

Any revenue that BART receives from its development is invested directly back into BART’s operating budget as guided by BART’s policies and priorities to keep the system safe, clean, and reliable. This is critical for ridership recovery following COVID-19. Recently, the BART Board has also adopted policies to allow for discounts in its land revenue to support affordable housing to address the regional housing crisis. In the past, the BART Board negotiated discounts on its land revenue in exchange for developers to construct BART infrastructure (including parking, transit plazas, and police substations).

Consistent with the regional goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, BART’s goal is to increase the number of people who ride BART through developing housing near BART stations. Recent UC Berkeley research found that TOD is achieving many of its intended goals: residents of transit-oriented development (TOD) take BART, walk and bike more, and drive less than people who don’t live near a BART station (residents who live between 1 and 2 miles from a BART station).

Findings of the UC Berkeley study

Some specific findings show that TOD residents:

• Took BART 2.5 times as often as non-TOD residents.
• Drove alone 37% of the time while non-TOD residents drove alone 50% of the time.
• Walked nearly three times as often as non-TOD residents.
• Generally walked to the BART station if they rode BART to get to work, and over two-thirds of TOD residents walked from their destination station to their workplace.
• Increased their walking and biking by seven times over the past 25 years near the Pleasant Hill BART station while decreasing car usage by over one-third.
• Increased walking and biking by nearly double over the past 25 years near the Union City and South Hayward stations while decreasing car usage by over one-quarter.
• Made nearly half of their commute trips by transit compared to about a quarter of non-TOD residents.

Example: the New Californian

Transform’s GreenTRIP parking database summarizes how much parking is used at developments near transit. For example, roughly 50% of parking spaces are used at the New Californian development in Berkeley, which is located between the Downtown Berkeley and North Berkeley BART stations. Built at 1.05 parking spaces per unit, the result is over 23,000 square feet of unused space at a total loss of $5.5 million ($71,000 per parking space).

BART wants to provide safe and secure station access options for people of all ages, abilities, and income levels, focusing on serving people who are most dependent on transit. Most people do not drive to the stations. Parking benefits a small share of riders (26% across these three stations) and it favors people with higher incomes, many of whom have more alternatives to get to and from BART.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the deeper need to focus on serving the riders who rely on BART the most as more people will be offered the ability to work from home. A recent 2020 Customer Satisfaction Survey showed only 17% of people who rode BART during the pandemic drove to the station. This is down from 29% in 2018. The majority (51%) of riders during the pandemic do not own cars.

These development projects won’t be completed for several years. People have different and changing needs, and it is hard to predict how BART riders’ needs may continue to change. Plus, each year there are technological advancements that offer alternatives to needing to drive and park, such as e-bikes, cargo e-bikes, electric scooters, and shared autonomous vehicles.

Options for getting to and from the station need to provide flexibility to riders at different times of day and days of the week. Parking lots tend to fill up weekday mornings, encouraging commuters who drive to BART to ride on the most crowded trains. It’s important to invest in options that provide sustainable and flexible station access throughout the day.