BERKELEY — Significant bicycle and pedestrian improvements have been completed at the North Berkeley BART Station, paving the way for better connections for hundreds of future neighborhood residents.
Berkeley councilmembers, electeds from neighboring cities, city staff and community members gathered Monday to celebrate the completion of the North Berkeley Bicycle and Pedestrian Access Project.
As part of the project, a section of the Ohlone Greenway, a 5.3-mile bike and pedestrian path, was widened between Acton and Virginia streets. Also added were separate two-way cycle tracks leading to BART entrances from Acton and Sacramento streets and two new bike lockers in the plaza, among other improvements.
The project was funded partly by the transportation agency’s Safe Routes to BART grant program which is supported by BART Measure RR funds, a tax measure approved by voters in 2016. An additional $3.4 million in grants were awarded to the project through the state’s Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities program.
“As Senator, I am proud that the state supports sustainable transportation projects,” State Sen. Jesse Arreguín, D-Oakland, said in a statement. Arreguín also noted his support for similar projects when he served as Berkeley mayor.
About 61% of all trips made to the North Berkeley BART Station are done by walking or biking, according to the agency’s 2015 Station Profile Study. The improvements are meant to support those already walking and biking to the station while making those modes of transportation more appealing to others.
BART Director Barnali Ghosh said he’s “thrilled” to see the project complete.
“These improvements make it safer and easier for people to walk, bike, and connect to BART. Delivering these community benefits years before the first North Berkeley TOD building opens reflects BART’s strong and lasting commitment to North Berkeley,” Ghosh said in a statement.
The project is part of a larger overhaul of the North Berkeley BART Station property. Working with the city and a team of housing developers, the transportation agency plans to welcome nearly 750 new homes on about 5.5 acres of land currently being used for station parking.
North Berkeley Housing Partners, the development team, is made up of three affordable housing nonprofits – BRIDGE Housing, East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation and Insight Housing – and one market-rate housing developer, AvalonBay Communities.
The new homes will be spread across five buildings that will be developed in phases. Construction was expected to begin in either 2025 or 2026. Half of the new units will be listed as affordable to people making up to 80% of the area median income. That’s about $127,000 annually for a family of four living in Alameda County, according to the state’s 2025 income limits.
Bound by Delaware, Sacramento, Virginia and Acton streets, the project site will also feature about 60,000 square feet of open space, a diagonal connection to the Ohlone Greenway that cuts through the center of the site and ground floor retail and childcare.
“The North Berkeley access improvements are just the beginning,” Mayor Adena Ishii said in a statement. “With more than 700 homes approved at North Berkeley BART and a similar number planned at Ashby, we’re showing that Berkeley can build more housing while making it easier for everyone to move safely and sustainably through our community.”