Hoping to offer some relief to BART commuters, the city is considering partnering with private entities and churches to use their empty parking lots.
It’s one idea being proposed in an online survey of Orinda residents to gauge interest for offsite parking.
Finding a parking space at the Orinda BART station can be daunting. Of the 1,361 spaces, 340 are available at a monthly rate and the waiting list for these coveted spots exceeds 2,000.
The city has been working on parking issues since the Downtown Affected Neighborhoods Parking Study was completed in 2016. There is now time-limit parking on Brookwood Road, enforcement in all signed areas has been increased and a Pilot Employee Permit Parking Program has been implemented and is expanding for commuters on Altarinda Road. The study includes recommendations for offsite BART station parking.
The survey will available at the city’s website later this month. It addresses walking distances, navigable terrain, monthly costs, a combined park/shuttle service and a section for comments. From the home page, scroll down to Popular Topics and click on “BART Commuter Survey.”
Jason Chen, a city engineer, said if leased, offsite parking areas prove popular, they would be for weekdays only and by permit. Though there will be a cost, it will be designed to be a break-even proposition for the city.
“Depending on the level of support, we could consider operating shuttles from and to parking areas which are not walking distance to BART,” said Chen.
