West Oakland station

West Oakland
West Oakland
	A train at West Oakland station in December 2018
General information
Location	1451 7th Street; Oakland, California
Coordinates	37°48′18″N 122°17′42″W / 37.8049°N 122.2951°W
Line(s)	BART M-Line
Platforms	2 side platforms
Connections	AC Transit: 14, 29, 36, 62, 800; Flixbus, Greyhound, Megabus;
Construction
Structure type	Elevated
Parking	156 spaces
Bicycle facilities	Racks, 42 shared lockers, 8 keyed reserved lockers, Bay Wheels station
Accessible	Yes
Architect	Kitchen & Hunt
History
Opened	September 16, 1974
Previous names	Oakland West (1974–1987)
Passengers
2024	3,690 (weekday average)
Services
Location
Location

West Oakland station is a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station in the West Oakland neighborhood of Oakland, California. It has two elevated side platforms and is located near the eastern end of the Transbay Tube. All main BART lines except the Orange Line stop at the station. The Oakland Wye is located to the east of the station.

History

By August 1965, the city of Oakland desired to call the planned station Oakland West.^[3] BART approved the name that December.^[4] The station opened on September 16, 1974 – the last station of the initial BART system to open – with the beginning of service through the Transbay Tube.^[5] The name "Oakland West" was contrary to the actual neighborhood name of "West Oakland". The efforts of neighborhood activists led BART to correct the name to West Oakland around 1987.^[6]^[7]^[8]

In 1990, West Oakland was proposed as a station for the Capitols service to replace the damaged 16th Street station.^[9] It was again proposed in 1992 as an intermodal station including Amtrak and buses as part of the replacement of the Cypress Street Viaduct.^[10] Seismic retrofitting of the station took place in 2009–2011.^[11]^[12] West Oakland was the first BART station to be retrofitted with new fare gates intended to reduce fare evasion. Installation of the new gates took place in December 2023.^[13]^[14]

In February 2019, the city approved plans for a transit-oriented development (TOD) project to replace parking lots surrounding the station.^[15] The BART Board of Directors approved the plans in June 2020.^[16] The development is to be mixed-use with 762 housing units, 75,000 square feet (7,000 m²) of retail, and 382,460 square feet (35,532 m²) of office space.^[15] The private developer lost the property in foreclosure in October 2023.^[17] As of 2024^[update], BART indicates "significant market, local support, and/or implementation barriers" that must be overcome to allow TOD on a separate parcel isolated from the main development. That second phase would not begin until at least the mid-2030s.^[18]

Bus connections

The station has a busway on its south side, which serves AC Transit bus routes 14, 29, 36, and 62. Bus stops on 7th Street on the north side of the station serve AC Transit routes 29, 62, and 800, as well as Flixbus, Greyhound, and Megabus intercity bus service.^[19]

References

^ Cerny, Susan Dinkelspiel (2007). An Architectural Guidebook to San Francisco and the Bay Area (1st ed.). Layton, UT: Gibbs Smith. pp. 501–502. ISBN 978-1-58685-432-4. OCLC 85623396.
^ "Monthly Ridership Reports". San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. June 2024.
^ "Differences On Transit Stop Names". Oakland Tribune. August 24, 1965. p. 50 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Names Approved for 38 Rapid Transit Stations Around Bay". Oakland Tribune. December 10, 1965. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "BART Chronology January 1947 – March 2009" (PDF). San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. March 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 13, 2013.
^ Healy, Michael C. (2016). BART: The Dramatic History of the Bay Area Rapid Transit System. Heyday. pp. 222–225. ISBN 978-1-59714-370-7.
^ "BART 1986–1987 Annual Report" (PDF). Bay Area Rapid Transit. BART. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 September 2022. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
^ "BART 1987–1988 Annual Report" (PDF). Bay Area Rapid Transit. BART. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 September 2022. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
^ Evangelista, Benny (September 24, 1990). "Commute train service back on track". Oakland Tribune. pp. A-6, A-8 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Evangelista, Benny (October 28, 1992). "Emeryville bullish on its Amtrak station plan". Oakland Tribune. pp. A-3, A-4 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Earthquake Safety Program Construction Updates (archive)". San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. 2009.
^ "Earthquake safety work underway at West Oakland Station" (Press release). San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. March 11, 2009.
^ "Installation work to begin week of December 11th on next generation fare gates at West Oakland Station" (Press release). San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. December 5, 2023.
^ "BART unveils new fare gates at West Oakland Station" (Press release). San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. December 28, 2023.
^ ^a ^b "Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) - West Oakland". San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. Archived from the original on May 13, 2024.
^ "BART approves plan for new mixed-use development at West Oakland Station" (Press release). San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. June 11, 2020.
^ Li, Roland; Swan, Rachel (October 11, 2023). "1,032 apartments approved next to West Oakland BART in doubt after foreclosure". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
^ BART Transit-Oriented Development Program Work Plan: 2024 Update (PDF). San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. March 2024. p. 17.
^ "Transit Stops: West Oakland Station". Metropolitan Transportation Commission. July 18, 2023.