Where Did My MacArthur BART Parking Go?
Big Changes at MacArthur BART Parking Lot
Piedmonters who drive to the MacArthur BART station for their weekday commute can expect to encounter blocked entrances and a reduced parking lot size, although parking capacity will not decrease. For the next three months or longer, up to 60% of the parking lot will be closed for the construction of a parking garage. There will be no access from MacArthur Boulevard or Telegraph Avenue via Apgar Street. Soon, the only access will be from eastbound 40th Street.
In order to accommodate the same number of cars in the shrinking lot, only the north end near 40th street will remain self-park. South of that, BART introduced weekday assisted parking* from 7am to 10pm.
AC Transit bus service between MacArthur BART and Piedmont has been historically poor. The best bus service to BART from Piedmont continues to be the No. 11 bus which connects with four BART stations (19th, 12th, Lake Merritt, Fruitvale) or the C bus, which only connects to MacArthur BART during weekday commute hours.
For a number of years, BART, the City of Oakland, and MacArthur Transit Community Partners (a private developer) have been planning a redevelopment project, the MacArthur Transit Village. Transit-oriented villages have been developed in Mountain View (not BART-oriented) and the Fruitvale BART station and have been discussed for several other BART stations.
The transit-oriented development at MacArthur BART station will eventually occupy the BART parking lot and several privately-owned properties adjacent to the parking lot. It will combine ground-level commercial/retail space, high-density, mixed-income housing and improved pedestrian, bicycle and public transportation connections to and from the BART Station. The project will include 624 new housing units, a 478-space parking garage, 42,500 square feet of local commercial and retail space and 5,000 square feet of community space. The project consists of five phases of development, with construction of 108 units of affordable housing and 516 units of market rate housing not expected to begin before 2014.
The initial phase, which is now underway, includes demolition of two existing motels located on West MacArthur Boulevard, construction of a new BART parking garage to replace the surface parking lot, renovation of the station entry plaza, renovation of the existing frontage road that currently serves as the shuttle and passenger drop off/pick up loading zone
The new BART parking garage will be accessed from MacArthur Boulevard. Once it is completed, the remaining surface parking lot will close and construction of the new streets will begin. Development of a new east/west street will connect Telegraph Avenue to the station and a pedestrian and bicycle lane will run north/south to the new street for access to the BART station from MacArthur Boulevard.
BART promises to maintain parking capacity as well as pedestrian, bike and transit access to and from the BART Station throughout the construction periods.
*Assisted Parking is double parking directed by an attendant. Previously, Ashby, Pleasant Hill and Dublin-Pleasanton BART stations have all had “assisted parking” for a period of about a year during construction. Drivers leave their car keys with the attendant in exchange for a claim check. Drivers then pay the same $1 parking fee inside the BART station, using the claim number instead of the stall number still used for self-parking. Drivers must return by 10pm to turn in their key claim checks and pick up their keys.
An attendant must remain after 10 PM to assist people getting their car key while BART is still in operation!!!