BARThood

BART Anagram Map

kiran — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 19:09:41 +0000

Take a look at this fun anagram map of the BART system, created by Derek McCarthy:

Here are the anagrams for our feature stations:

Fruitvale – A VILE TURF

MacArthur – A MARCH RUT

16th St. Mission – EXTREMITIES HOST SIN NES

Pittsburg/Bay Point – A GUTTY BRIT SNOB PIP

Transit-Oriented Development around BART

marnette — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 21:57:00 +0000

Transit-Oriented Development . We’ve heard the term and have an idea of what it’s supposed to do–a place that brings people around public transportation. The concept is based on smart growth, so that cities can grow and develop in a more sustainable way. From the research and interviews by BARThood, we found that some of the elements of a successful Transit Village include enhanced mobility, pedestrian and bicycle-friendly environment, and an overall improvement in the surrounding neighborhood in aesthetics and public safety. One expert added that overall increase in ridership at a transit mode as one measure of success.

Transit villages are the buzz words when it comes to developments around BART stations.

One example is Fruitvale Village. Proposed by the community organization, the Unity Council, the development opened in 2004 with much fan fare. The group describes it as “Community-Oriented Development” rather than a Transit-Oriented Development. We found many in the neighborhood who said the Village has improved the area overall. But BARThood also found commuters and residents, who say they rarely visit the village for shopping or other leisurely activities. We ask, are the three elements of the development–the community, the development itself and BART/BART commuters–fully integrated?

Other proposals being examined by BARThood includes projects near the MacArthur and Pittsburg/Bay Point stations. BARThood team members are asking what these developments are supposed to look like and what community members around these areas actually want to see.

But what are TOD’s REALLY supposed to do? What’s the ideal? How can we measure their success?

BARThood wants to find out.

First BART Ride Memorabilia

elizabeth — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:34:32 +0000

Temescal historian Ray Raineri gave us this BART memorabila today, commemorating the first ride on BART on October 11, 1972. It includes a map of the system and detailed instructions on how to ride BART.

INTERESTING FACTS:

BART initially ran just Monday-Friday 8 am – 6 pm from Fremont to MacArthur stations running in intervals of 15 and 8 minutes.
30 cents was the lowest value for a BART ticket in 1972, $20 was the highest.

–Elizabeth Shemaria

MacArthur before it was MacArthur BART

elizabeth — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:49:07 +0000

Today, MacArthur BART is a transfer hub for three of the five lines in the BART system. People who knew the MacArthur BARthood before BART went in, say this area has always been a transit hub. Before BART there was AC Transit, before AC Transit there was the Key System. Today, Kiran Goldman and I interviewed Bill Jackson, who owns Lee’s Auto Laundry Detail. Jackson’s family has owned the business, located today just behind the BART parking lot, since the 1940s. His views on the MacArthur BARThood and a transit village proposed for the station will appear in a video for our News 21 project. –Elizabeth Shemaria

(Photo courtesy BART)

Update from 16th and Mission

andrea — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:19:51 +0000

Marnette Federis and I have been immersing ourselves in two heavily Latino neighborhoods for the past five weeks: Fruitvale in Oakland and the Mission District in San Francisco. On Monday, we met with Phil Lesser, spokesman for the Mission Merchants Association, who also works for the Mission Housing Development Corporation. He has deep roots in the Mission – his parents started a glass business in the Mission in the first half of the 20th century, when the area was predominantly Irish. As the 1958 photo to the right shows, Lesser says the Mission District has changed tremendously in the last half century. The disruption of BART construction and the rise of malls and multiplexes led to the district’s eventual decline. –Andrea V. Brambila

Pittsburg and MacArthur Update

elizabeth — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:18:41 +0000

Kiran Goldman and I have researched and reported at the Pittsburg and MacArthur BART stations over the last five weeks. We have reported at the BART stations and their BARThoods. In the process, we learned that both stations are in different phases of planning a transit village to better serve the community around those BARThoods. Pittsburg, a BARThood where residents say surrounding towns like Walnut Creek better serve their daily needs, see the Transit Village as an opportunity to enhance their community. Around the MacArthur BARThood, a transit village would serve the young educated commuters who are increasingly moving into the neighborhood, however, old-time businesses would likely be displaced. –Elizabeth Shemaria

Pittsburg BART development community meeting

elizabeth — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 19:26:34 +0000

Last night, Kiran Goldman and I went to a community meeting about a mixed-use development at the Pittsburg/Bay Point BART station. Residents from the Pittsburg BARThood attended the meeting to voice their interest in the development and what they hope it will add to the community. Some residents said they could see a transit village creating a sense of community at the station. Downtown Walnut Creek and sidewalk cafes were mentioned as were grocery stores like Whole Foods, coffee shops, and bookstores. Pittsburg City Planner Leigha Schmidt says the plan is for the future and it will be a very long time before a plan turns into a development at the Pittsburg/Bay Point BART station. -Elizabeth Shemaria

Pittsburg Commuters

elizabeth — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 19:32:47 +0000

The average Pittsburg/Bay Point BART commuter travels 7.92 miles to get from their home to the BART station, according to a survey BART released last month. Today, Kiran Goldman and I followed Jonathan Hiponia, an Antioch resident who works in San Francisco. He rides BART from Pittsburg/Bay Point to Embarcadero almost every morning, a total commute of 1.5 hours each way. Hiponia is not alone. By 7:30 am, when he arrives at the BART parking lot, the lot is nearly full. –Elizabeth Shemaria