When you are standing on the Rockridge BART platform, all is well and good. You can peer at beautiful San Francisco views day and night, while waiting for your train. It’s a different story below the tracks, where all heck is breaking loose from the retrofit project.
Over a month ago, BART began their seismic retrofit for the Rockridge station and there have been complaints about traffic problems since then. Part of south-bound College Avenue has been closed off, and making a left from College Avenue to Keith Avenue is rather difficult. If there are four cars waiting, then all south-bound traffic is tied up.
One Montclarion suggested quick changes to the traffic light, by providing a longer left turn arrow. Another idea would be to work on the retrofit after regular work or commute hours instead. We vote for the traffic light timing change.
BART officials responded and said they were trying to work with the City of Oakland to resolve the issue – because Oakland controls the signal. With this simple fix, a lot of people will be less angst-ridden!
It always seems to take a while for traffic lights to get adjusted or turned on. Is anyone from the City listening out there?
Today in Montclair, 94611 
I have a new theory. Because of all the potential traffic problems everyone is avoiding College Avenue at Rockridge BART. I sailed through there this morning just after 8am. The whole area was deserted. Quite spooky.
Angst vs. Traffic Safety…lets vote!
Obviously you Montclarions do not wander far from your handicap parking spots or red zones. The longer left turn phase at College and Keith would be in direct conflict with the high pedestrian volumes on the crosswalk between the BART station and Cactus Taqueria. A lot of students from the adjacent middle school also use this crosswalk.
Thank goodness Caltrans excluded this area from the Caldecott EIR and there was expected to be no impact here resulting from the Fourth Bore or the old signal hardware at this location could have been properly upgraded. The signal controller at this intersection is so old that a walk phase on the opposite side of the College Avenue (between the Market Hall and fire memorial tiles) can not be programmed to provide a walk phase during the existing leading southbound left turn phase.
The poor retrofit construction staging here is consistent with the poor layout of the station and the indifference of BART staff to the Community or the patrons who access this station by foot. BART has done very little to address the pedestrian deficiencies at this this station. Wheelchair access and circulation accommodations through the ivy are minimal and there are many discontinuous sidewalks that force pedestrians to walk on the frontage roads along SR 24. The precipitous unprotected drops between the eastern parking lot and the station entrance that remind me of the places where the People of the Plains forced herds of Buffaloes off cliffs.
There are virtually no provisions for pedestrians in the parking lot, parking capacity has been increased in a manner that reduces sight distances and there are several obstructions like bike racks and garbage cans that have been placed directly in the path of pedestrians. I love watching passengers who use the center banister stumble around the newspaper bin that is repeatedly placed at the bottom of the wide stairwell between the mezzanine and the platform.
If the snarl and drop off in 8:00 AM business continues, perhaps the southbound left turn at College and Kieth could be prohibited and angst ridden motorists wishing to access SR 24 and SR 13 could could be directed to make the free high speed right turn off College onto Miles and then be directed through the jog in the BART parking lot to Shafter where they could make a left turn and then resume “sailing” directly up Keith towards Montclair the Hills and Caldecott with less interference from the non-motoring public.
Wow. What a comment post. Must be a record.
I understand the sentiments, even with the hyperbole. We live in an area designed for cars, at the expense of bikes and peds. I like biking down from the hills to the flat lands on errands as much as anyone. However, it is some times tough to do with my two boys, 9 and 13. Not so much because of the hills, but traffic. There are some “choke” points that are not safe for biking. One is the highway 13 Thornhill interchange. Another is the highway 24 Broadway interchange.
When I bought my home in Montclair 13 years ago, I did not think too much about the bike/walking access to shopping. I live walking distance to the village, but that has limited options for shopping. Now, my ideal home would be walking distance to shops, BART, etc., etc.