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Rockridge BART 'Safe Routes to Transit' Project Proposed; City Wants Feedback The cty of Oakland is proposing improvements to bicycle and walking access to the Rockridge BART station. The Transportation Services Division will host a meeting Wednesday, Se...

Rockridge BART Station Serves as a Peace Parade Jumping Off Point Pictured here are just two of the hundreds of peace marchers who embarked for San Francisco from the Rockridge BART Station on Sunday, February 16. There were enough marchers from Chabot C...

By Ann Winterman

Rockridge BART Plaza Plans Progressing by Ann Winterman, RCPC boardmember B ART is ready for a visual upgrade. After years of difficulty gaining consensus on design, representatives from BART, the Rockridge Community Planning Council (RCPC), and the Rock...

Rockridge BART, from previous page office site with emphasis on affordable housing, the site has some specific impediments and challenges to devel- opment. The barriers to development are capacity (limited developable land area) and easements, which incl...

Rockridge BART Station SB 79 Impact Area: Building Height

EIRs Invade Rockridge: BART Pursues Massive Parking and Development Plans for Station June 15, 1991 RCPC Opposes BART Parking Expansion Development November 16, 1991 Schools, Neighbors Work Together to Rebuild Routine After the [Oakland Hills] Fire November 16, 1991...

By Steve Meyer

to excavate around the base of the vertical supports, install new footings, strengthen foundations, and wrap steel “jackets” around columns. Expect lots of work around the Rockridge BART Station and Hardy Park. BART also plans to improve the structural integrity of the escalators, staircases, and canopies at the Rockridge station. Many thanks are owed to Brunner’s office and to the hardworking folks at RCPC and the RDA for...

By Casey Farmer

The Wardrobe Project Hosts Flea Market at Rockridge BART Photo: Muhammad Alameldin ince 1986, the Rockridge News has been distributed throughout the neighborhood by more than 150 com- munity volunteers. All persons, age 18 or older, whose primary residence is within RCPC boundaries, are eligible...

By Ben Friedman

Hooray Rockridge BART for its spectacular city views and for the gift of public transit. A tip of the cap to the abiding crowd at Cole Coffee — I don’t know what you’re always plotting, but it makes me smile. I love our neighborhood’s holiday cheer, including s...

Crime in Rockridge ‘Rockridge BART Lowest in Crime of All Eight Oakland Stations’ — Lt. Ed Alvarez, BART PD Area Cmdr

By Jennifer Vetter

Strategies; An In-Person Look If you’ve ever used the Rockridge BART sta- tion, ask yourself these three questions: • Have you ever wished you’d spent a  groves in the station courtyard? • Have you ever wished there were more security lights as you dug in your back- pack for car keys? If you answered yes t...

By Steve Meyer

Earthquake Retrofit Planned For Rockridge BART Station by Steve Meyer, RCPC Board Member According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), there is a 62% probability of at least one earthquake with a magnitude of 6.7 or greater in the next 30 years in the Bay Area. That’s why BART’s top pr...

Transit-Oriented Development at Rockridge BART — the Conversation Begins by Anna L. Marks

>Gorgeous +/- 3,000 sqft of living space 3 blocks to Rockridge BART >Brown shingle home plus two legal income units 1 block from College Ave.

College Ave Berkeley Alcatraz Ave Rockridge BART 51st St Shattuck Ave Telegraph Ave Emeryville November Sales Average 13% Over Asking Price!

Focus: The Rockridge BART Station changes | studies | improvements | concerns

Fix the Rockridge BART Station Pick-Up and Drop-Off Area Editor:

Plans for Rockridge BART Plaza on Track

... has been as high as just 12" from the surface. Two major flood control projects in 1987 and 1990 finally stopped the annual flooding of basements on College Avenue. Above ground or culverted, Temescal Creek is a major influence on life in Rockridge. Learn more: https://oaklandgeology. com/2024/01/22/temescal-creek-the- lower-reach/. Plans for Rockridge were initially outlined in BART’s Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Program Workplan (August, 2020), a 10-year plan aimed at “strengtheni...

6012 College Avenue (between Rockridge BART and Claremont)

(Opposite Rockridge BART)

(1 Block to Rockridge BART)

4 biocks South of Rockridge BART ront to Pizzeria Gugileime

Editor: Concerning the Rockridge BART development and parking

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(Near Rockridge Bart) 547-7181

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Oakland, CA 94618 (1 Block to Rockridge BART)

7 AM to Midnight 9642 College Avenue At Rockridge BART 428-9256

5642 College Avenue At Rockridge BART

By Don Kinkead

Shopping? Find it in Oakland! by Don Kinkead, editor Creating attractive and useful public space is never easily or quickly done. Eight years after RCPC first proposed improve- ments to the area outside the BART station area at Keith and College avenues, an approved redesign of the space is in hand and closer than ever to becoming a reality. Residents attending the RCPC April Town Hall got an early peek at the most current development plans for the area to ...

By Casey Farmer

place on Saturday, March 15. There is no fee for admission, and parking in the BART lot is free. The store is open daily from 11:30am to 6pm. Find them on Instagram @ thewardrobeproject. n Rockridge Community Planning Council — Bylaws Update: At the Town Hall on February 10, residents voted on an amendment to the bylaws in case of ...

to move into the neighborhood, local response was swift and negative (see Rockridge News, November 2022). At that time, neighbors made it clear to the City that housing was the preferred use for the lot at 51st and Broadway as well as the site of the old College of the Arts site at Broadway and Clifton — both sites could add a...

from page 1 space must be provided for each secondary unit. Under the proposed regulations, NO additional off-street parking spaces would be required for new detached secondary housing units within one-half (1/2) mile of a BART station, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) station, (R) bus line, or “Major Transit Stop.” A quick perusal of the map at left shows almost all of Rockridge lies within this distance. This provision is intended to facilitate the development of more housing opt...

By Don Kinkead

project, said she found it a successful design. Project presenters Greer Alley, Bob Franklin of BART, Sara Wilson of Market Hall and RDA, and Ann Winterman of RCPC said money for the project and approval for the plans are in place. Franklin, a Rockridge resident and an early project supporter, obtained BART support and funding. Coun- cilmember Jane...

By Don Kinkead

...oriented to areas of interest near and far. An eight-year-long project is bound to move in fits and starts; this one is no excep- tion. Still, as people interested in the project came and went, it stayed alive, gathering the support of the Rockridge District Association (RDA), the city of Oakland, and BART itself. One meeting attendee was concerned this latest iteration of the plans was devel- oped without sufficient public participation. Another person, recently learning of the

By Steve Meyer

residents up to date on progress. See you on the Avenue! A Hair, Nail and Beauty Supply Dedicated to providing excellence in our service Mon-Sat 10-6 Sun 11-5 5510 College Avenue, Oakland 510.595.4227 RCPC will work with BART to expedite the retrofit and clean-up. Watch for updates in The Rockridge News.

I’m encouraged to read any further development for Rockridge BART has been delayed. The question of BART sustaining itself into the future has challenges. Thus, if BART patroniza- tion does not increase rapidly, what sense does it make to pursue Transit Oriented Development (TOD) at Rockridge BART? Not t...

Rockridge Neighborhood Commit- tee requested rezoning around the Rockridge BART Station area to allow construction of an 83-unit apartment complex. The Past and Future of Development at Rockridge BART by Annette Floystrup Rockridge was founded as a transit-oriented neighborhood, uniquely situated to take advantage of ...

..., CA 94611 RCPC Voice-mail: 510/869-4200 AC Transit Makes Changes in 51B and 851 Schedules A C Transit reports several service changes on many bus lines, including the 51B and 851 lines serving Rockridge: n 51B: Northbound: trips departing Rockridge BART before 5:30 a.m. and after 12:05 a.m. discontinued every day.

...RT stations near the Stoneridge Mall on February 19. Work in progress. Excavating and reconfiguring the bases of BART’s overhead track supports for improved seismic safety involved several pillars at a time as the project moved through the Rockridge BART parking lots. ■ ■BART is accepting applications at

around the Rockridge BART station area on College Avenue was the focus of the June RCPC Town Hall meeting. Twenty-three people from the community, the Rockridge District Association (RDA), RCPC, and BART met to provide input on moving this project forward.* Newslet...

By Hannah Roeyer

after registering online with AC Transit. Riders can pay on board with cash, Clipper Card, or via the AC Transit mobile app. See www.actransit.org for details. n by Hannah Roeyer The Rockridge BART station is hard to miss. But, did you know Rockridge is also home to an enviable network of bus routes? A bus runs through Rockridge nearly every three minutes, connecting our neighbor- hood to destinations throughout the East Bay and beyo...

By Rebecca Saltzman

by Rebecca Saltzman My name is Rebecca Saltzman, and I am the recently elected BART Board Member for District 3, which includes Rockridge. I’m excited to represent Rockridge on the board. For five years, I lived a short walk away from the Rockridge BART station and used it frequently. I have advocated for transit, bicycle, and pedestrian issues in Oakland and the East Bay for many years. When I’m not at BART, I’m Government Affairs Manager for the California League of Conservation Voters,...

By Rebecca Saltzman

has billions of dollars in capital replacement and improvement needs. Our biggest needs connections. I will be working with AC Transit to improve connections between buses and BART. I’m thrilled about the new Rockridge BART plaza, which connects the BART station to the surrounding neighborhood and adds inviting public open space. I greatly appreciate the hard work and the vision of the Rockridge community and my predecessor, Director Bob Franklin, in making t...

/Don Kinkead To subscribe to The Rockridge News, send your check for $20, payable to Rockridge News Subscriptions, to: Rockridge News Subscriptions at the address below. Contacting The Rockridge News Are there community issues you’d like to see covered in The Rockridge News? • Do you ha...

Rockridge BART) between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. twice a week for the first two months and once a week over the following year. To be eligible for the free course of therapy, vets must have a current PTSD diagnosis and be under concurrent medical care from a lo...

By Don Kinkead

...dents; furnish a forum for community involvement; and provide leadership and representation of neighborhood interests. o kick off the holiday shopping season, the Rockridge District Association is hosting a free public cel­ ebration at the Rockridge BART Plaza on Saturday, December 7, noon-4pm. Santa to entertain the children. The Dancing Christmas Trees are also scheduled to perform along with Solid Gold Strangers, a neighborhood group

By Stuart Flashman

...are about it now?” It’s a good question for all of us who live in Rockridge. One need only look around Rockridge to see the many things RCPC has helped make happen. Those accomplishments include the Rockridge Branch Library, Frog Park, the Rockridge BART Plaza, the new trees at Claremont Middle School, and the Plaza at the new College Avenue Safeway. Less obvious but equally important, RCPC has contributed to the thriving retail area along College Avenue and the comfortable, human-scaled r...

By Stuart Flashman

...in ways that keep Rockridge a place that its residents are comfortable with and can be proud of. Of course, there is not always consensus about how Rockridge should change. Forty- five years ago, when BART and Highway 24 first came through Rockridge, BART and the city felt it should be a place for high-density housing and office buildings. The residents disagreed, and thus was born RCPC. Over time, the face of Rockridge has shifted, but

By Bob Franklin

...r volunteers: plan to join us to celebrate this milestone. E-mail info@frogpark.org for more information or to offer help on the organizing committee. ☞ More details and FROG News: Page 9 by Bob Franklin, BART boardmember The renovation of Rockridge BART Plaza will finally begin construction around mid-April, nine years after being initially conceived as a community vision to improve the area under Highway 24 and the BART tracks on College Avenue. BART, in partnership with the city of Oakl...

...ontact us at one of the following: Editor: editor@rockridge.org www.rockridge.org The Rockridge News, 4123 Broadway, PMB 311, Oakland, CA 94611 RCPC Voice-mail: 510/869-4200 ■ ■Plaza Renovation The contract to make some improvements to the Rockridge BART plaza was awarded this past fall and construction will begin around February 2012, weather permitting. Articles submitted for publication may be e-mailed to the above address. Submissions are limited to 600 words; must include the author’s...

By Stuart Flashman

by Stuart Flashman, chair, RCPC Rockridge residents have, since Janu- ary, become familiar with the routine annoyances associated with the seismic retrofit project at the Rockridge BART sta- tion. Blocked sidewalks, coned-off traffic lanes, missing spaces in the BART parking lot, giant trucks full of construction debris – they’ve all had to be accepted as a necessary part of protecting BART and area residents from major p...

... will be held at the Rockridge Branch Library in the upstairs meeting room on Thursday, September 18, beginning at 7 p.m. 7:00: Bay Area Rapid Transit ■ ■ (BART) representatives discuss the agency’s seismic retrofit project planned for the Rockridge BART sta- tion, and will hear community sugges- tions for controlling project noise. 7:30 to 8:30: Speakers from ■ ■ the California Native Plant Society and California Invasive Plant Council will discuss wildlife in Rockridge, removal of invasi...

By Bob Franklin

and Locksley. Six alternatives to ivy are viewable on my website (see below) along with a map of the affected area. If you The current Rockridge BART passenger drop-off location inside the east parking lot is so inconvenient that some people drop off passengers in the College Avenue bus stop zone, risking a $250 fine. BART has been working with the city of Oakland, Councilmember Brunner...

By Neil Getz

First Steps in Preventing Rockridge Crime by Neil Getz At 11:50 p.m. on the evening of December 20, 2002, Leslie left the Rockridge BART station after an extended day of work in San Francisco. Leslie and her fiancé Frank had purchased a house and moved to Rockridge just three months earlier, lured away from San Francisco by Rockridge’s tree-lined streets, walkable neighborh...

...e made by check payable to RCPC and mailed to 4123 Broadway, PMB 311, Oakland, CA 94611, or online at RCPC’s Web site: www.rockridge.org. C P C R Donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. Federal tax ID no.: 94-3011284. ■ ■Rockridge BART Plaza: The Rockridge BART Plaza is a long-time plan coming closer to fruition. RCPC, RDA (Rockridge District Association) and BART have developed a plan to enhance

By Bob Franklin

BART Update BART to Charge Parking Fees Beginning in December by Bob Franklin, District 3 BART Director (Rockridge) A RCPC K-Tour 2005 s your Rockridge representative on the BART Board of Directors, I want to give you an update on the latest developments...

...ed area’s irrigation, and many of the plants died. BART worked with East Bay MUD this year to install a new meter and then replaced the landscaping with drought- tolerant, low- maintenance plants. There is still more work to be done at the Rockridge BART station. At the end of September, BART began work to correct the flaking paint on the columns supporting the BART tracks. These columns had been wrapped as part of the earthquake safety construction program of several years ago, but the in...

BART opened in 1972. BART and Rockridge Bob Franklin is a resident of Rockridge and member of the BART board of directors. In December, the board unanimously elected Franklin as its new president. He is the first former BART employee to serve as board pr...

identifying a conservator that will work with BART to repair the damages unfortunately ■ ■BART Plaza: BART will soon be releasing the bid documents for the redesign of the plaza at the base of the escalator leading to the Rockridge station platform. BART is working in cooperation with the Rockridge ...

The seismic safety program at BART is expected to occur in Rockridge from late 2008 through early 2011. BART will provide advance notification when dates become firm. The biggest impact will be in areas 15-20 feet around the columns that support BART’s aerial trackway. Work on an ind...

action related to land use decisions, as well as to support neighborhood improvements such as the upkeep and ongoing improvements to FROG Park, and the new Rockridge BART plaza. Please consider us for a New Year’s contribution; we will use it wisely on projects that keep Rockridge a great place to live. RCPC is a 501(c) (3) tax-exempt organization, so ■ ■Offers the benefit of non-profit status to important ...

... to highlight some of these activities and to consider what Rockridge might otherwise look like if RCPC had not existed. Lately, RCPC has been involved in stopping Safeway’s effort to build a mega- store on College Avenue and assisting the Rockridge BART station beautification project. These efforts are part of a long history of causes RCPC has embraced. How Did Rockridge Happen? In the coming months, I will write of some of the history of the Rockridge neighborhood and how RCPC has helped...

By Bob Franklin

...created over 10 years ago when I chaired what was then called the UnderBART committee. Stuffed full of photos, papers, drawings, phone lists and meeting agendas, my old file documents the history of an effort to enhance the space under the Rockridge BART station. Over a decade ago, our committee formed as an extension of the RCPC and our first public meeting at Please join City Councilmember Jane Brunner

...anklin, who represents Rockridge, holds an image of the compass rose m e d a l l i o n t o b e embedded in the walkway near the BART Plaza to be built in the ivy area. The emblem symbolizes the myriad travel destinations available from the Rockridge BART station. Big Build volunteers celebrate their progress at Hardy Park. Photo/Bill Caldwell A Look Back: The Frog Park Big Build A Look Ahead: Frog Park Anniversary April 21 D. Kinkead What: FROG Earth Day maintenance and family-friendly 10t...

...land will stop parking meter enforcement after 6 p.m., eliminating the two-hour extension to 8 p.m. enacted by the City Council in July. The extra two hours were rescinded by a decision of the council in October. The seismic upgrade at the Rockridge BART station is scheduled for com- pletion in January 2010. Photo: Don Kinkead G R E A L T O R S The GRUBB Co. www.BART.gov, visit the section ABOUT BART and then PROJECTS. Under earth- quake safety is a description of all projects, impacts, sc...

...News Production Cy Gulassa...........................Editor Ortrun Niesar.....................The Muse Claire Isaacs Wahrhaftig.... Writer Barry Kaufman...................Food Jo Ellis...................................Advertising & Focus: Rockridge BART Plaza Plans by Bob Franklin, BART Boardmember, and Stephanie Upp, RCPC Boardmember Amunity bulletin board Additional lighting to the area under the dark overpasses Additional benches Ivy removal and landscaping Fenced-in play area for tots...

Terry Kulka & Julie Bartlett Number of Homes Sold: Over 400 Homes Sold in Rockridge: Over 80 Value of Working with Realtors who have over 35 years Experience? PRICELESS Call Today! (510) 682-5917 RockridgeHomeSales@Gmail.com www.Rockridge-RealEstate.com Over 400 homes sold ...

Terry Kulka & Julie Bartlett Terry Kulka & Julie Bartlett Number of Homes Sold: Over 400 Homes Sold in Rockridge: Over 80 Value of Working with Realtors who have over 35 years Experience? PRICELESS WanTed To RenT! Highly qualified tenant with impeccable references is seekin...

Terry Kulka & Julie Bartlett Terry Kulka & Julie Bartlett Number of Homes Sold: Over 400 Homes Sold in Rockridge: Over 80 Value of Working with Realtors who have over 35 years Experience? PRICELESS WanTed To RenT! Highly qualified tenant with impeccable references is seekin...

strollers and other large items. Over the next few years, at least one wider faregate will be installed in every BART station. Seismic Retrofit The new “All Nighter” bus service will begin in December, with buses stopping at most BART stations after midnight when BART stops running. This is one way that BART and ACTransit are working together. A longterm vision of ...

...“How New State Housing Laws Could Reshape Rockridge’s Future”). It will also include brainstorming to create a more vibrant, walkable, sustainable, and secure environment for existing and future residents — young and old. Author concept of Rockridge BART’s revitalization (for illustration/brainstorming purposes only; not a proposal) These might be specific initiatives to make our streets greener, brighter, and safer, or safety measures at the intersections of busier streets to reduce conge...

By Annette Floystrup

...na L. Marks .........................Editor & Layout Artist Jo Ellis........................ Assistant Editor & Ad Manager Susan Montauk......Business & Distribution Manager Judith Doner Berne......... Senior Contributing Writer hat do the Rockridge BART Plaza, Colby Park, FROG Park, Hardy Dog Park, the Greenbelt, the outdoor seating at Ain’t Normal, the small shops and plaza at Safeway, the retail stores in the Dreyer’s building, the multiple traffic safety improve- ments for pedestrians,...