QUESTION:

What parks 236 bicycles, doesn't require a single lock, and is absolutely free?

ANSWER:

The new attended bicycle parking facility, or "bike station," at the Fruitvale BART transit village. This facility opened for business at 6:00 am on Monday, November 1, 2004.

The bike station (located just to the left of the Caesar Chavez Plaza entrance, within a hundred feet of the northeast BART exit) is staffed by an attendant who will keep an eye all day on commuter bikes. An added feature: the bike station boasts a full service repair station to fix or tune up your bike while you're at work. By offering secure bicycle parking, this new bike facility will encourage bicycling as an alternate means of transportation, and will reduce congestion and air pollution.

The first of its kind in Oakland, the new bike station joins a handful of similar facilities across the state. Over time, more bike stations are expected to be constructed as part of a region-wide strategy to reduce the number of drive-alone vehicles accessing regional transit services. Read an article about the bikestation in the California Department of Transportation's Journal (.pdf format, 19mb; article starts on page 16).

The project came about through a collaborative partnership between the City of Oakland, the Bay Area Rapid Transit District, and the Fruitvale Development Corporation. Oakland Public Works Agency staff secured $400,000 from Caltrans' Bicycle Transportation Account for capital improvement funding, managed the contract with Fruitvale Development Corporation (the construction manager), and provided construction oversight. The Bay Area Rapid Transit District secured $400,000 of Bay Area Air Quality Management District funding for additional capital improvement costs and operational expenses for the facility.