BART Path at El Cerrito Plaza Closing Soon

BART's earthquake retrofitting on its elevated tracks and the accompanying Ohlone Greenway is expected to wrap up in Albany from Brighton to Portland avenues in about three weeks, with the next segment behind El Cerrito Plaza forecast to begin right afterward, according to BART officials.

The fences blocking the path on the Portland-to-Brighton section are scheduled to come down in mid-March, said Greg Jacobs, consulting civil engineer to Albany. (Earlier, BART estimated a February end date.)

Brighton to Fairmount

Right after the Portland-to-Brighton section of the path re-opens, work will move north, and the Ohlone Greenway from Brighton to Fairmount Avenue in El Cerrito will close, said Jason McLean, a community relations liaison for BART. The same retrofitting work will be done there—enlarging the underground bases of the piers (support columns) and reinforcing the pier caps with rebar—and is scheduled to last until September.

Because the path from Brighton to Fairmount runs between Albany Middle School and El Cerrito Plaza, and there is no adjacent street, no official detour is being provided.

BART will post signs with three suggested detours. From Albany, heading north into El Cerrito, those are:

• Turn left (west) on Brighton and then right (north) San Pablo Avenue, then right (east) on Fairmount to the path.
• Turn right (east) on Brighton, then left on Spokane Avenue, which turns into Behrens Street in El Cerrito, and then left (west) on Fairmount to the path.
• Turn right (east) on Brighton, go a block past Spokane and turn left (north) on Key Route Boulevard, which turns into Ashbury Avenue in El Cerrito. Then turn left (west ) on Fairmount to the path.

These detours were approved by both El Cerrito and Albany, McLean said.

Cyclists should note that the two routes heading east on Brighton pass in front of Albany Middle School, which is very congested at drop off (7:50 and 8:50 a.m.) and pickup (3:05 p.m., and 2:10 p.m. Wednesdays) times. Riders might want to cut over to an alternate route south of Brighton at these hours. Similarly, Key Route in front of Albany High School can be quite congested.

Path users are not being directed through El Cerrito Plaza, Jacobs said, “because we don’t feel it’s appropriate to direct into private property.”

Portland to Brighton

Next to the soon-to-be completed Albany segment, parking on the east side of Masonic Avenue will re-open, and street sweeping will resume, Jacobs said. 

On the greenway, the new bike and pedestrian path will be 16 feet wide, twice as wide as the old path. The new path includes a 2-foot shoulder of decomposed granite for joggers, Jacobs said. The 14-foot paved section will be striped for two-way traffic. Jacobs said he’s not aware of separate lanes for cyclists and walkers. Eventually, the old paved walking path will also re-open, without any upgrades.

Although the new path is opening, other parts of the greenway are likely to remain fenced off while grass is planted. Landscaping can take up to six weeks, according to the city’s agreement with BART.

North Berkeley

With retrofitting beginning in North Berkeley from just south of Gilman Street, where the BART trains come above ground, to the Albany line at the Codornices Creek (near the intersection of Santa Fe Avenue and Key Route), the greenway has been fenced off and trees are being removed. This work is also scheduled to last until September.

Southbound users are directed off the greenway, just south of Codornices Creek, onto Santa Fe for a short distance. The detour turns left on Gilman, goes two short blocks, then right on Neilson and back onto the greenway.

Anyone with questions about the construction project can contact BART’s Jason McLean at 510-464-6197 or jmclean@BART.gov.

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