BART to temporary close some station entrances in San Francisco and Oakland
The Bay Area Rapid Transit is temporarily closing several entrances at the four downtown San Francisco stations, as well as additional entrances at the 12th and 19th Street Stations in Oakland.
BART says these closures will help focus the cleaning efforts and to improve safety for employees and riders during times of record low ridership and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Downtown San Francisco station details:
All entrances on the north side of Market Street will remain open, while all entrances on the south side of Market will be closed. BART says it prioritized the north of Market Street entrances after careful analysis of several factors including where the majority of riders are currently entering and exiting, ADA access and known hot spots for illegal behavior. The north side of Market is where the elevators are located.
Downtown Oakland station details:
The 12th Street Station will be accessible from the Williams Plaza and De Lauer’s News Stand at the center of the station, and 11th and Broadway (south end of station near the Marriott).
The 19th Street Station will be accessible from 17th and 20th Streets on the south side of Broadway.
All stations remain ADA accessible and signs in multiple languages will be posted at the closed entrances noting others remain open to avoid confusion.
Closing entrances will allow BART to focus resources including station agents, cleaners and police on the open entrances and fare gates. BART Police Chief Ed Alvarez has assigned police officers to a "fixed post" during specific hours of the day to each of the open entrances.
BART says it ensured these changes meet emergency safety protocols.
BART previously closed the following station entrances without incident:
- Multiple entrances at 12th and 19th street stations in Oakland
- Balboa Park north end
- Powell north long corridor
- Downtown Berkeley south end
