parking | 511 Contra Costa

Tag: parking

BART Welcomes Returning Riders with a Variety of Improvements

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More and more people are returning to BART, with a host of improvements waiting for them when they get back on board.

Riders returning to BART will enjoy a variety of improvements made as part of BART’s Welcome Back Plan. Some of these will be easy to spot, but many of them – like air filters dense enough to remove virus particles – are behind-the-scenes changes which make travel by BART safer or more convenient.

One of the most important changes from the last year is BART’s return to near-regular service. Monday through Saturday, BART is back to pre-pandemic service frequency with trains running until midnight. They have also added new trips on Saturdays to reduce wait times. Currently, BART closes at 9pm on Sundays, but a midnight closure will return on February 20.

Here are some other changes which benefit BART riders:

  • The air in BART cars is replaced every 70 seconds and cleaned with upgraded air filters.
  • iPhone and Android users can now use their phone or Apple Watch at the fare gates to pay for BART. Riders can immediately load funds to their Clipper card when using Clipper on their phone.
  • An increased number of safety staff, including BART Ambassadors and BART Police, are monitoring activity on trains and handing out masks to anyone not already wearing one. In case of emergency, riders can now text BART Police at 510-200-0992, call them at 510-464-7000, or report an issue using the free BART Watch app.
  • Many BART parking lots have available spaces, and riders can pay daily parking fees with the official BART app.
  • While bikes are allowed on all BART trains, you can also Secure Your Cycle at the BART station in an electronic bike locker with a free BikeLink card from 511 Contra Costa.
  • BART service was extended into Santa Clara County with the opening of two new stations: Berryessa/North San Jose and Milpitas.
  • BART is upgrading and reopening restrooms that have been closed at some stations.

For information on BART schedules, parking, or improvements, visit the BART website.

If you’re thinking of getting back on BART, you might be eligible for $50 in Clipper funds. Pledge to ride BART at least one day a week in place of a drive-alone trip and you could be eligible for the Jumpstart Your BART incentive. Learn more.

Expanded Antioch BART Parking Now Open

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Avoiding Highway 4 traffic is easier than ever with the opening of 850 additional parking spaces at BART’s popular Antioch Station. The new lot is BART’s latest effort to welcome riders back and to encourage East Contra Costa County residents to take BART instead of driving.

Riders at all stations can now pay the daily fee or reserve single day or multi-day parking through the official BART app. The process to purchase monthly parking or join the wait list has also moved to the official BART app. There is no longer a wait list for monthly parking at Antioch.

The parking expansion and access improvement project included:

  • Construction of 850 fee parking stalls
  • Dedicated ADA accessible sidewalk to the Antioch Station
  • Improved passenger pick-up/drop-off and bus lane circulation
  • Improved wayfinding for pedestrians, cyclists, transit passengers, and drivers
  • Construction of a multi-use pedestrian/bicycle path along Slatten Ranch Road between Hillcrest Road and the station.

For more details about station improvements at Antioch BART station, read the article at BART.gov.

The 2017 California Gas Tax Is Here, Don’t Let It Affect You

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California’s 12-cent gas tax increase went into effect this month, and you’ll soon see the impact at gas stations throughout the state. We have a couple of ways for you to beat the tax hike:
Share the Ride – Whether you call it ridesharing or carpooling, it’s the same thing – sharing a ride and splitting the cost. Now that most people have smartphones, apps make it possible to carpool to work with just a little advance notice. The first step: visit our Carpooling Page. We’ll walk you through your options (some app-based, some not) and even tell you how carpooling might qualify you for a $25 incentive.
If you commute by driving to BART, there’s an additional perk for you: Scoop carpools are guaranteed a parking spot at a number of Contra Costa BART stations when they arrive before 10am. No need to get up super-early to get a space or roll the dice on a spot being available when you arrive – use Scoop to find a passenger for that empty seat & parking is yours! Plus, parking is free.
Get an Electric Vehicle – If you’re not ready to commute without driving, leasing or purchasing an electric vehicle not only lets you avoid paying the gas tax, but vehicles which are 100% electric get toll-free access to the Express Lanes. Electric vehicles are also allowed in the HOV lanes during carpool hours, even if it’s a solo commute.
For more information on the benefits of driving an electric vehicle, visit our Electric Vehicle Incentive Programs page.

Carpool with Scoop to Reserve Parking at Pleasant Hill/Contra Costa Centre & Concord BART Stations

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Commuting to Concord and Pleasant Hill/Contra Costa Centre BART just got easier! Carpools using the Scoop app will receive a guaranteed parking space and free parking at Concord or Pleasant Hill/Contra Costa Centre BART stations if they arrive before 10 a.m. So, if you’re willing to fill an empty seat, you’ll have a parking spot waiting for you when you arrive!
To get free, reserved parking at Concord and Pleasant Hill/Contra Costa Centre BART stations, download the app at takescoop.com, use promo code BARTLOVE05 to receive a $5 credit, type in the BART station name, and schedule a trip either before 9:00 p.m. the night before the morning commute or by 3:30 p.m. for that evening’s commute. Shortly after the scheduling deadline, Scoop will notify commuters who have been matched. Drivers who match with passengers will receive a parking placard from Scoop which will serve as their parking permit.
For more information, visit the BART website.

Construction Starts Mid-May 2017: Lafayette BART Station – North Lots

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Starting in mid-May 2017, construction work will begin on the northern parking lots of the Lafayette Station as part of the Station Site Improvements Project.
The work will take approximately 8 months and be completed in two phases. Phase 1 will include the temporary relocation of the ADA lot and intermodal zone. Phase 2 will include the temporary relocation of the permit lot adjacent to Happy Valley Rd.
The entrance to the north side of the Lafayette BART station will remain open during construction.
While construction is taking place, you can use County Connection bus routes 6 and 25 to get to the station.

Free Valet Bike Parking at Pleasant Hill Farmers' Market: Saturday, Oct. 3, 2015

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511ccbikeparkingbanner
511cc Bike Valet Farmers' Market
Valet park your bike at the Pleasant Hill Farmers’ Market on Saturday, October 3, and you’ll be entered to win $20 in Pacific Coast Farmers’ Market Association “Carrot Cash”!
Roll in, leave your bike with the 511CC bike valet staff and they’ll give you a claim check for your bicycle and keep it safe while you shop.
The new bike valet service is a joint effort between 511CC and Pacific Coast Farmers’ Market Association to encourage patrons to choose cycling as their way to get to and from the Market.

Free BART Parking Coming to an End (2014)

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Concord BART StationBART has begun phasing out free parking at the few remaining stations where it exists. On Monday, October 27, paid parking ($1 per day) went into effect at the Concord BART station, with the North Concord, Coliseum/Oakland Airport and Hayward stations soon to follow.
According to BART officials, the move to paid parking is necessary to cover costs. The official estimate is that it costs an average of $1.33 per day to maintain, operate and police each parking space in the BART system.
The North Concord BART station will make the move to paid parking on November 12. BART plans to transition Oakland Coliseum BART on November 17 and Hayward BART on December 8.
Parking fees vary by station and can be paid by cash, Clipper Card or a BART Blue Ticket. It’s still free to park at all stations on weekdays after 3 p.m. and on weekends and holidays.

New Hillcrest Park & Ride Lot is Almost Ready to Open (2014)

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Old Hillcrest Park & RideCommuters catching Tri Delta Transit buses at the current Hillcrest Park & Ride on a typical weekday afternoon

Big changes are coming up for the Hillcrest Park & Ride lot located in Antioch at the corner of Hillcrest Avenue and Sunset Drive.  Starting Sunday, February 16, 2014, commuters will be parking a bit further up on Sunset Drive on Lot A of the upcoming eBART station.

Hillcrest Park&Ride Layout 2

The new parking lot will feature an additional 94 spaces for commuters.  The bus loading area will also be relocated to an area adjacent to the future eBART station.  Tri Delta Transit and other transit operators are recommending that you allow additional time to catch your bus.   In anticipation of some confusion to the new changes, signs and ambassadors will be on site Tuesday, February 18th to help commuters.

Hillcrest Park & Ride
Hillcrest Park & Ride

511 Contra Costa is excited to see that the new Hillcrest Park & Ride lot is almost ready to open to the public.  It looks like finishing touches are being put into place when staff stopped by for a preview.

By the end of 2017, all 1,000 spaces of BART’s Antioch (eBART) Station parking lot will be available for use for drivers who use Tri Delta Transit, eBART and other local public transit systems.  And what will happen to the current parking lot?  The old Hillcrest Park and Ride will be demolished to clear space for freeway onramps and offramps.

Information Source: Contra Costa Times, East County Today, Tri Delta Transit

Downtown Walnut Creek Parking Explained

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If you must drive to Downtown Walnut Creek, it pays to know what parking options you have when looking for a place to park.

peets-coffee-and-tea-cake

Going to Peet’s Coffee & Tea for a brief time?

Use the short-term parking meters.

walnut-creek-farmers-market

Dinner and a movie, or going shopping?

Park in a City-owned garage (South Locust, North Locust, Broadway); inexpensive and no time limits.

downtown-walnut-creek

Working in Downtown Walnut Creek?

Park in a City garage which is cheaper than meter parking and has no time limits. The City of Walnut Creek is considering changes to the City-owned garages and meters to incentivize motorists to park with purpose (pricing and duration based on the specific purpose of  parking).

Did you know?

In downtown Walnut Creek, there are:

  • 1,524 street parking spaces
  • 1,443 city-owned garage spaces
  • 5,616 other spaces available to the public

The City of Walnut Creek provides a parking guide showing free parking garages, metered parking lots, city parking lots/garages, and free trolley stops.

For more tips and a list of proposed parking changes, check out the image below.

Downtown WC Parking Map
Image provided by In a Nutshell Winter 2013-14

Download a PDF of the image above.

Image credits top to bottom: drauh, aidanmorgan, greenbeltalliance.

Peer-To-Peer…Parking? (2013)

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Park Sign
Parking this way! Photo credit: S Jones
These days, chances are you’ve heard of peer-to-peer car-sharing a concept that continues to grow in  Contra Costa and allows people to borrow an available car from neighbors on an as-need basis.  The Walnut Creek based firm, Park Circa has developed an app that facilitates shared parking.
A new tool, Park Circa, brings the peer-to-peer concept to parking and lets people use parking spaces when private citizens don’t need theirs.
Here’s how it works, in the words of Park Circa:

If you’re tired of losing 30 minutes of your life to the parking-space hunt every time you go out, this is the App for you. What if your friend who lives near a major transit hub said you could park in their driveway while they were at work as long as you were out by an agreed time?
Park Circa connects people who have empty parking spaces during a set time to people that need them. We enable coordination between neighbors and friends, so that your community resources are optimized for everyone’s benefit. We help organize and publish parking schedules and we facilitate payment between parties, so that people can find parking when they need it and where they need it. Drivers find a place to park, and space owners make some money on their empty driveways. Everyone wins.

The next time you find a convenient parking space near your work or home, check Park Circa, it could be available for you to potentially use! Some benefits of peer-to-peer parking may come intuitively, like the benefit of more efficient use of parking space, but for other benefits Park Circa offers:

  1. Take your space with you – convert your unused space into parking credit that you can redeem when and where you need it
  2. Make money– at $1-3 an hour and an average of four hours per day, you could make between $120 to 360 a month.
  3. Be a hero– help make life easier for your neighbors and fellow citizens, without any cost to yourself.
  4. Improve efficiency of urban resources through utilizing under utilized resources.

There are a handful of parking spaces in Contra Costa County:

park circaAvailable parking spaces. Screen grab via: Park Circa

For additional coverage of the concept, check out a piece on Park Circa at SF Gate or head over to Park Circa’s website

Turning 30 Car Parking Spaces Into 300+ Bike Parking Spaces

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Bike Corral at Delfina Pizzeria
Eight bicycles fill this bicycle corral using space which would otherwise accommodate one motor vehicle. Photo credit: San Francisco Bicycle Coalition
San Francisco is undoubtedly setting the bar high for fellow Bay Area cities looking to become more bike friendly, spearheading innovative infrastructure treatment like painting bike lanes green and creating protected bike lanes. However, the city has also been moving ahead with a more subtle change to embrace cycling– since San Francisco started implementing it’s Bike Plan in mid-2010 the city has converted 30 curbside car parking spaces into over 300 bike parking spaces!
336 bike parking spaces to be precise, according to SF Streetsblog who originally covered this impressive milestone. In a city as densely packed as San Francisco, this move  maximizes efficiency of existing space and provides more parking near local businesses. As bicycling continues to grow in the Bay Area, perhaps more cities will turn to on-street bike parking as an inexpensive and effective solution to meet parking demand.

Parking Fees at San Leandro Station

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Starting today BART will begin charging $1.00 for daily weekday parking at San Leandro BART Station between 4am to 3pm.
PARKING LOT DESIGNATION
There are two designated area types for parking, one for ‘Permit’ holders (Monthly, Single Day or Airport/Long Term parking permit), and one for ‘Fee’ payers.
Parking Map
Permit holders can park in the ‘Permit’ sections while all other must pay the $1.00 fee and park in the ‘Fee’ sections. After 10 a.m., any unoccupied spaces in the “Permit” areas are available on a first-come, first-served basis for Fee-paying drivers.

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Parking to remain free at local Park & Ride lots

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ANTIOCH, CA, January 12, 2010 – Beginning January 19, 2010, BART will begin charging a daily fee of $1 to park in the Pittsburg/Bay Point parking lot.  Park and Ride lots, however, will remain free of charge to all patrons and provide easy access to BART via express bus service from Tri Delta Transit.
BART remains a major destination for East County commuters. Extending BART to Antioch and beyond in East Contra Costa County remains a continuous topic of discussion. “Until it happens, Tri Delta Transit’s Express Route 300 is the next best thing,” said Director of Marketing, Mike Furnary. “With Park and Ride lots, someone in Brentwood, for example, need only drive one or two miles to get to BART instead of 18.
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