2 California City Council Approve BART Plans

Sep. 20–The Dublin and Pleasanton city councils gave unanimous support to the design of the planned West Dublin-Pleasanton BART station and parking lots during a joint meeting Monday.

Construction on the $71.5 million station is planned to start in January and take two years to complete, said Robert Russell of Oakland’s Amphelon Development Group, the master developer. It will be located in the middle of Interstate 580, west of I-680.

The design, which did not need approval from the two governing boards, was not much different than the one shown during another joint meeting of the councils in 2003.

During that meeting, Pleasanton officials questioned the large size difference between the parking lot on their side compared to Dublin’s.

Dublin officials, meanwhile, noted that the covered pedestrian bridge going to the main concourse from its side was farther away than the one planned for Pleasanton’s.

Compared to the design shown in 2003, the one presented Monday had about the same number of parking spaces in both garages. Both sides gained 20 parking spaces, with Dublin having a five-story, 720-space garage and Pleasanton having 420 spaces in four stories. Russell said the amount was based on traffic flow, with most riders expected to come from southbound I-680.

“The vast majority of passengers would be coming through the Dublin (side),” he said.

The new design also centers the concourse between the two pedestrian walkways, Russell said. And it was changed so that riders leaving through the Dublin side would go into a plaza that could take them into the city instead of straight to the parking lot.

“We didn’t want people going straight to the parking lot instead of interfacing with the city,” he said.

During Monday’s meeting Dublin Councilwoman Claudia McCormick asked about public art, an idea also supported by Pleasanton Councilman Steve Brozosky. Russell said the developer was open to displaying art but did not have the money for it.

“We don’t have it in our budget, and we don’t have any room in our budget,” he said. “We’re open for donations.”

Separate from the new station and parking lots are plans for a 150-room hotel, 210-unit apartment complex and 7,500-square-foot retail and restaurant space on the Dublin side. On the Pleasanton side, 170,000 square feet of office space is also planned.

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