About San Antonio Station
Learn more about the project.
Why a new station?
Population growth and a thriving community demand it.
14th Avenue sits at a historically underserved transit corridor in the San Antonio district of East Oakland. Population in the area has increased dramatically, and residents need convenient access to the rest of the Bay Area.
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This three mile stretch between Lake Merritt and Fruitvale is predominantly low-income, transit-dependent, and among the most diversely and densely populated "urban" areas in the Bay Area. It's the second densest area in the East Bay without a BART station. And it happens to have tracks already running at grade right through it. The immediately surrounding neighborhoods include San Antonio, Clinton, Little Saigon, and the Highland Hospital area, among others. There may not be office towers, but there are lots of jobs, homes, and local transit connections.
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The distance between Lake Merritt and Fruitvale stations is the longest within Oakland. A new stop at 14th Ave./ San Antonio would connect with bus lines, and ease commuter traffic to and from the rest of the Bay Area.
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For detailed demographic data, please see our interactive data maps .​
WHY NOW?
When BART was originally planned in the 1950s and ’60s — an era defined by white flight and urban renewal — the agency prioritized connecting suburban areas to downtown San Francisco and, to a lesser extent, commercial districts in Berkeley and Oakland. While this meant an average of just 0.9 miles between stations in San Francisco and 1.2 miles in much of Oakland and Berkeley, East Oakland stations were spaced an average of 2.5 miles apart, with the stretch between Lake Merritt and Fruitvale the longest distance between stations in these three core cities: a staggering 2.8 miles.
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In the middle of this gap are some of the densest neighborhoods in the Bay Area — as well as Oakland’s oldest park and Alameda County’s primary trauma center. A giant 3,700-home development, Brooklyn Basin, is being built on the waterfront mere blocks from the old San Antonio Embarcadero. Yet its future residents will have no access to public transit.
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Despite the clear transit need and ridership potential, San Antonio and Clinton residents watch dozens of BART and Amtrak trains pass through their community daily without stopping. An infill station here is a logical investment in terms of ridership and accessibility — and an essential step toward revitalizing one of Oakland’s most underserved neighborhoods.
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A new station would integrate the Clinton and San Antonio districts into BART’s 131-mile rail system, providing residents with direct access to jobs and other amenities while connecting others to Highland Hospital, San Antonio Park and historic commercial corridors along E. 12th Street, International Boulevard and 23rd Avenue.
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It would also restore connections to the waterfront. Decades of disinvestment in East Oakland were exacerbated by its increasing isolation from San Francisco Bay, as rail lines and freeways carved through the community and cut it off from a revitalized waterfront. A rail station, designed with a pedestrian and bicycle bridge over the freeway, would reconnect inland neighborhoods to the city’s scenic shoreline while enhancing transit and commercial links to the new Brooklyn Basin development. It would be the closest BART station to the waterfront in the entire Bay Area.
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An infill station would be a catalyst for development in the area. Housing-centric zoning changes and urban design improvements to support walkability, mobility and accessibility could foster a more livable neighborhood and support existing and aspiring businesses while improving air quality. A special tax assessment on the new development could help pay for the station — a transit value capture model that has proven successful elsewhere.
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With strong community support, BART’s urgent need to increase ridership and the Bay Area’s commitment to building transit-oriented development, a new rail station at the foot of 14th Avenue offers a real chance to improve and modernize our regional transit system.
But turning this vision into reality will require bold leadership.
First steps.
Oakland's support:
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With the endorsement of Oakland City Council and the office of the Mayor, project coordination with Alameda County can truly begin, and the station could take shape.
Business Case Study:
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A business case study will help get agency buy-in buy showing the necessity of this station. We are seeking support to conduct and sponsor this study.
