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Agenda Item
5.20 26-0179 Subject: A Feasibility Study For A Potential San Antonio Bart Station
From Councilmember Wang
Recommendation: Adopt A Resolution Expressing The City Of Oakland's Support For A San Antonio Bart Station And Calling On The Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) To Conduct A Feasibility Study
As a resident of District 2, this study is an important step in understanding the impacts and potential benefits of a new BART station at 14th Ave and E 12th. This is a dense neighborhood with great diversity but also great amounts of urban blight. I believe building a better transit hub at this location has the potential to transform the area and attract more housing and businesses. The study needs to be conducted to better understand the possibilities and the ramifications.
I strongly support this feasibility study and the efforts to build an infill BART station in San Antonio. I hope the city council votes to support this study, as this is a crucial and important first step. An infill BART station would be a boon for San Antonio. In a part of town that has seen apathy from city hall and has historically not seen investment, support from the city council would show support for Oakland and a positive vision of the city. An infill station increases availability of public transportation, will help alleviate the affordable housing crisis, and bring economic investment into the neighborhood.
Hello. I am a resident of the San Antonio area and I oppose this project, which will gentrify the neighborhood and displace a ton of people just so that the new Brooklyn Basin residents don't have to ride the bus.
This vote is a crucial, low-risk step. It is not final project approval; it is a resolution supporting BART's feasibility study to explore what's possible. As others have said, "funding follows vision," and this resolution provides that vision.
The arguments for this study are rooted in equity, opportunity, and common sense:
1. Correcting Historic Inequity: This station begins to repair the harm from "skipping over" this dense, diverse, and transit-dependent community. The nearly three-mile gap between Lake Merritt and Fruitvale disconnects thousands of low-income residents, immigrants, and people of color.
2. Addressing Mobility Needs: While Tempo is an asset, it's no substitute for regional rail. A BART station provides a fast, reliable, and safe connection to jobs, education, and services across the Bay Area.
3. Unlocking Economic Opportunity: This is also a community-building project. It can anchor a neighborhood center, revitalize businesses in Little Saigon, and connect to major employers like Highland Hospital.
4. Creating a Connected Waterfront: The location offers a unique chance to create a green connection to the waterfront, reconnecting San Antonio to parks and waterfront.
Regarding valid gentrification concerns: We must not deny a community a public good out of fear. The purpose of this study and planning process is to intentionally build in anti-displacement strategies from day one.
This study is the first step toward a more equitable and connected Oakland.
As a resident of District 2 and resident of the Clinton neighborhood, I strongly support the recommendation to conduct a feasibility study for the potential of a San Antonio infill BART station. Our neighborhood is one of the most racially and ethnically diverse places in Oakland, and even the greater Bay Area, and has become home to many communities that make Oakland special. Part of what makes that possible is affordable housing options and transportation options for those without cars. But if investment isn't made in improving transit options and building more housing, the neighborhood will no longer be able to accommodate the great diversity it does. Conducting a feasibility study is an important first step in quantifying the costs and benefits of a potential new station and would make Oakland a leader in considering infill BART stations as a cost-effective way to meet transportation needs and serve existing communities. This initiative has broad support across the local community and strong local advocates that are ready to work along city leaders to push this forward. I urge you to adopt this resolution and conduct a feasibility study on this important project for one of Oakland's oldest, yet most vibrant, neighborhoods. Thank you for your consideration.
Hello, my name is Claudia Natalia von Vacano, I have been a homeowner and resident of Oakland for the last 25 years and I reside in the San Antonio region. I have served and supported Oakland unified school district students and have worked at the UC office of the president. I have a deep long-standing commitment to Oakland and I strongly support this project as a taxpayer and resident. It is a great injustice that BART stations are set in suburban areas but large areas such as the San Antonio region goes without a BART station. Having a bar BART station here would greatly stimulate the local economy and support its residence. It is not only is it possible to do this but that it would be a great benefit to Oakland and strengthen the board system. The San Antonio region is a densely populated area and deserves to be better served with public transit. Please support this feasibility study. Thank you.
As a resident of the San Antonio neighborhood, I'm in strong support of this feasibility study. Please vote yes on this resolution to better connect this vibrant community to the rest of the city and bring much needed investment to our community.
As a long-time resident of the San Antonio neighborhood and its Park Steward, I strongly support the feasibility study for a BART station at 14th Avenue. It will enhance public transportation options and bring more foot traffic to our local businesses. I can't think of any project that would do more to create economic opportunity in an area long neglected by the City of Oakland.
A feasibility study for San Antonio Station is an important first step in building a better future for District 2. I am a 17 year resident of the Clinton neighborhood. I have been active in the community as an educator at the local elementary school and as a community journalist, and I can say that I've seen time and time again how we can work together to create something deeply needed. The three mile gap in BART stops passes over a dense, transit dependent community that has experienced the effects of disinvestment since the days of redlining. A station, a connection to the waterfront, and a walkable district with housing, retail, services, and cultural events could be a game changer for us, and in the end, provide a solid tax base for the city. Please vote yes on this resolution.
Yes! This is the first step to many to correct the historical redlining and equal out the decades of divestment of Dan Antonio. To give our lower socioeconomic neighborhood access to better transportation that other neighborhoods in Oakland and cities enjoy.
Excellent opportunity to expand transit use and public transportation access for thousands of residents. The feasibility study is an essential next step to understand the range of opportunity and make sure the right path, with community input, is taken.
As a resident, I support a feasibility study for the San Antonio Station because this initiative would greatly improve our underserved neighborhood. This study is a crucial first step toward addressing the transportation inequities that have long affected our area.
Hello, I would love to see movement towards a BART station in the San Antonio neighborhood. It would be a much-needed bridge in a service gap. I have friends with challenged mobility who live in this neighborhood and it is still something of a food and supply desert -- BART would help significantly improve their transit to less residential areas where they can shop for basic needs. Thank you for opening the door to this consideration!
I’m a neighborhood resident and strongly support a feasibility study for a San Antonio BART station. We are a densely populated area that we be so well served by more transit options, as well as a connection to the rapidly growing waterfront district.
A feasibility study is an excellent step for the city and community. This will be a long process with many opportunities to make things even better for existing and additional residents, good to get the ball rolling now
I’m a long time resident of the area that would be served by this station. It’s important to me that we that we make safe reliable transit options available for all. An infill station could provide both a service to our community and also a more affordable option for BART to gain more ridership.
As a neighborhood resident, I strongly support the City Council resolution expressing support for a feasibility study for the proposed San Antonio BART Station. Our community has been underserved by regional transit for far too long. The nearly three-mile gap between Lake Merritt and Fruitvale Stations leaves thousands of residents - many low-income, immigrants, and people of color - without equitable access to reliable transit service despite our neighborhood being one of the densest in the East Bay. A feasibility study is a vital first step toward correcting this inequity, improving safety, reducing commute times, and connecting our neighborhood to jobs, education, and essential services. It would also begin the process to establishing a long overdue neighborhood center and green connection to the waterfront. This study will help ensure that future transit investments finally include San Antonio, strengthening mobility and opportunity for everyone in our community. I urge the City Council to support this resolution.
A feasibility study for an infill station at 14th Avenue is an important step for the City to take towards improving transportation access and addressing decades of disinvestment in East Oakland. As a long-time resident of E. 19th Street, a neighbor, renter, affordable housing advocate, and transit rider, I urge the Council to take up this initiative. I do so also professionally, as an urban planning professor and research associate of the Mineta Transportation Institute.
The neighborhoods surrounding 14th Ave. are among the most diverse, dense, and walkable in the East Bay, rich in affordable housing and local businesses, right on the BART line but without a stop. The massive gap between stations is part of a long history of unjust planning. Residents and workers in the area deserve access to the region's premier transit network, and Oakland will benefit from more mobility, housing, and Bay access here. Planners will need to take care in preserving the existing communities thriving here. But
we have models for prioritizing improvement without displacement, including through affordable locally driven transit-oriented development.
Of course this vote is not to decide whether there will be a new station; it’s to study whether there could and should be. Indeed, any study must support affordable housing here, much as BART has fostered at Fruitvale and Lake Merritt stations. This study is a straightforward, positive step for Oaklanders, for our Town, and for BART.
I absolutely support this feasibility study. My family has lived in this neighborhood for many years. It would be a great benefit!
As a resident of District 2, this study is an important step in understanding the impacts and potential benefits of a new BART station at 14th Ave and E 12th. This is a dense neighborhood with great diversity but also great amounts of urban blight. I believe building a better transit hub at this location has the potential to transform the area and attract more housing and businesses. The study needs to be conducted to better understand the possibilities and the ramifications.
I strongly support this feasibility study and the efforts to build an infill BART station in San Antonio. I hope the city council votes to support this study, as this is a crucial and important first step. An infill BART station would be a boon for San Antonio. In a part of town that has seen apathy from city hall and has historically not seen investment, support from the city council would show support for Oakland and a positive vision of the city. An infill station increases availability of public transportation, will help alleviate the affordable housing crisis, and bring economic investment into the neighborhood.
Hello. I am a resident of the San Antonio area and I oppose this project, which will gentrify the neighborhood and displace a ton of people just so that the new Brooklyn Basin residents don't have to ride the bus.
This vote is a crucial, low-risk step. It is not final project approval; it is a resolution supporting BART's feasibility study to explore what's possible. As others have said, "funding follows vision," and this resolution provides that vision.
The arguments for this study are rooted in equity, opportunity, and common sense:
1. Correcting Historic Inequity: This station begins to repair the harm from "skipping over" this dense, diverse, and transit-dependent community. The nearly three-mile gap between Lake Merritt and Fruitvale disconnects thousands of low-income residents, immigrants, and people of color.
2. Addressing Mobility Needs: While Tempo is an asset, it's no substitute for regional rail. A BART station provides a fast, reliable, and safe connection to jobs, education, and services across the Bay Area.
3. Unlocking Economic Opportunity: This is also a community-building project. It can anchor a neighborhood center, revitalize businesses in Little Saigon, and connect to major employers like Highland Hospital.
4. Creating a Connected Waterfront: The location offers a unique chance to create a green connection to the waterfront, reconnecting San Antonio to parks and waterfront.
Regarding valid gentrification concerns: We must not deny a community a public good out of fear. The purpose of this study and planning process is to intentionally build in anti-displacement strategies from day one.
This study is the first step toward a more equitable and connected Oakland.
As a resident of District 2 and resident of the Clinton neighborhood, I strongly support the recommendation to conduct a feasibility study for the potential of a San Antonio infill BART station. Our neighborhood is one of the most racially and ethnically diverse places in Oakland, and even the greater Bay Area, and has become home to many communities that make Oakland special. Part of what makes that possible is affordable housing options and transportation options for those without cars. But if investment isn't made in improving transit options and building more housing, the neighborhood will no longer be able to accommodate the great diversity it does. Conducting a feasibility study is an important first step in quantifying the costs and benefits of a potential new station and would make Oakland a leader in considering infill BART stations as a cost-effective way to meet transportation needs and serve existing communities. This initiative has broad support across the local community and strong local advocates that are ready to work along city leaders to push this forward. I urge you to adopt this resolution and conduct a feasibility study on this important project for one of Oakland's oldest, yet most vibrant, neighborhoods. Thank you for your consideration.
Hello, my name is Claudia Natalia von Vacano, I have been a homeowner and resident of Oakland for the last 25 years and I reside in the San Antonio region. I have served and supported Oakland unified school district students and have worked at the UC office of the president. I have a deep long-standing commitment to Oakland and I strongly support this project as a taxpayer and resident. It is a great injustice that BART stations are set in suburban areas but large areas such as the San Antonio region goes without a BART station. Having a bar BART station here would greatly stimulate the local economy and support its residence. It is not only is it possible to do this but that it would be a great benefit to Oakland and strengthen the board system. The San Antonio region is a densely populated area and deserves to be better served with public transit. Please support this feasibility study. Thank you.
As a resident of the San Antonio neighborhood, I'm in strong support of this feasibility study. Please vote yes on this resolution to better connect this vibrant community to the rest of the city and bring much needed investment to our community.
As a long-time resident of the San Antonio neighborhood and its Park Steward, I strongly support the feasibility study for a BART station at 14th Avenue. It will enhance public transportation options and bring more foot traffic to our local businesses. I can't think of any project that would do more to create economic opportunity in an area long neglected by the City of Oakland.
A feasibility study for San Antonio Station is an important first step in building a better future for District 2. I am a 17 year resident of the Clinton neighborhood. I have been active in the community as an educator at the local elementary school and as a community journalist, and I can say that I've seen time and time again how we can work together to create something deeply needed. The three mile gap in BART stops passes over a dense, transit dependent community that has experienced the effects of disinvestment since the days of redlining. A station, a connection to the waterfront, and a walkable district with housing, retail, services, and cultural events could be a game changer for us, and in the end, provide a solid tax base for the city. Please vote yes on this resolution.
A BART station in San Antonio will help the many small businesses here.
Yes! This is the first step to many to correct the historical redlining and equal out the decades of divestment of Dan Antonio. To give our lower socioeconomic neighborhood access to better transportation that other neighborhoods in Oakland and cities enjoy.
Excellent opportunity to expand transit use and public transportation access for thousands of residents. The feasibility study is an essential next step to understand the range of opportunity and make sure the right path, with community input, is taken.
As a resident, I support a feasibility study for the San Antonio Station because this initiative would greatly improve our underserved neighborhood. This study is a crucial first step toward addressing the transportation inequities that have long affected our area.
Hello, I would love to see movement towards a BART station in the San Antonio neighborhood. It would be a much-needed bridge in a service gap. I have friends with challenged mobility who live in this neighborhood and it is still something of a food and supply desert -- BART would help significantly improve their transit to less residential areas where they can shop for basic needs. Thank you for opening the door to this consideration!
I’m a neighborhood resident and strongly support a feasibility study for a San Antonio BART station. We are a densely populated area that we be so well served by more transit options, as well as a connection to the rapidly growing waterfront district.
A feasibility study is an excellent step for the city and community. This will be a long process with many opportunities to make things even better for existing and additional residents, good to get the ball rolling now
I’m a long time resident of the area that would be served by this station. It’s important to me that we that we make safe reliable transit options available for all. An infill station could provide both a service to our community and also a more affordable option for BART to gain more ridership.
As a neighborhood resident, I strongly support the City Council resolution expressing support for a feasibility study for the proposed San Antonio BART Station. Our community has been underserved by regional transit for far too long. The nearly three-mile gap between Lake Merritt and Fruitvale Stations leaves thousands of residents - many low-income, immigrants, and people of color - without equitable access to reliable transit service despite our neighborhood being one of the densest in the East Bay. A feasibility study is a vital first step toward correcting this inequity, improving safety, reducing commute times, and connecting our neighborhood to jobs, education, and essential services. It would also begin the process to establishing a long overdue neighborhood center and green connection to the waterfront. This study will help ensure that future transit investments finally include San Antonio, strengthening mobility and opportunity for everyone in our community. I urge the City Council to support this resolution.
A feasibility study for an infill station at 14th Avenue is an important step for the City to take towards improving transportation access and addressing decades of disinvestment in East Oakland. As a long-time resident of E. 19th Street, a neighbor, renter, affordable housing advocate, and transit rider, I urge the Council to take up this initiative. I do so also professionally, as an urban planning professor and research associate of the Mineta Transportation Institute.
The neighborhoods surrounding 14th Ave. are among the most diverse, dense, and walkable in the East Bay, rich in affordable housing and local businesses, right on the BART line but without a stop. The massive gap between stations is part of a long history of unjust planning. Residents and workers in the area deserve access to the region's premier transit network, and Oakland will benefit from more mobility, housing, and Bay access here. Planners will need to take care in preserving the existing communities thriving here. But
we have models for prioritizing improvement without displacement, including through affordable locally driven transit-oriented development.
Of course this vote is not to decide whether there will be a new station; it’s to study whether there could and should be. Indeed, any study must support affordable housing here, much as BART has fostered at Fruitvale and Lake Merritt stations. This study is a straightforward, positive step for Oaklanders, for our Town, and for BART.