When was the last time you rolled into a brand new BART station?
BART’s 44th station, and first in eight years, opens this weekend between Castro Valley and Dublin/Pleasanton stations. The first train in scheduled to arrive at 6:03 am Saturday.
The new station comes with 1,190 new parking spaces. Dublin/Pleasanton station, 1.6 miles away, regularly fills up by 7:30 am, and the new station offers relief in both permit and fee parking. BART began offering monthly reserved monthly parking permits on Feb. 1. Monthly reserved parking permits are available online for $63. Daily reserved parking is $4, and daily fee parking is $1. We’ll have to wait and see how long it takes the West Dublin/Pleasanton lot to fill up on the morning of the 21st.
In addition to offering relief for commuters headed downtown, the station is just a short walk from Stoneridge Mall and several office buildings. Private developers contributed $20 million of the total $106 million to build the new station, and have plans for housing, retail, and other transit-oriented development around the station.
The new fares are already on BART’s website (be sure to use a date of Feb. 19 or later). For example, a one-way trip from West Dublin/Pleasanton to Powell Street Station in San Francisco will cost $5.40.
The new station offers transit connections on both sides. From the Pleasanton side, the station is served by Wheels routes 3/3V, 53, 70XV, and Rapid, as well as the Tri-Delta Transit Dublin/Pleasanton Delta Express. On the Dublin side, the station is served by LAVTA Route 3. Both sides are served by bike racks.
The West Dublin/Pleasanton station is an “infill”, meaning it adds a new stop along an existing line. There are few infill stations in the US and no others in BART. Working around the existing and operating track was tricky, but BART managed to do it by creating two sets of tracks. Workers were able to make progress on one set while BART riders rode through on the other. BART plans to extend rail service to Livermore some day, but West Dublin/Pleasanton offered the opportunity to relief congestion more quickly with fewer funds.
Photos of the station are from BART’s blog.
