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Balboa Park (BART station)
Encyclopedia
Balboa Park Station is a Bay Area Rapid Transit
station located south of Balboa Park in southern San Francisco, California
. It consists of two main tracks and a single island platform
. Interstate 280
runs along the west side of the station, and City College of San Francisco
is to the north.
Balboa Park is currently the busiest BART station outside downtown San Francisco, with seven San Francisco Muni
bus lines and three Muni Metro
lines connecting in the vicinity. In addition, the station is popular with passengers who kiss and ride, due to its proximity to Interstate 280, a major commuter route into San Francisco. The station is the southernmost in the BART system that passengers can access using an SF Muni FastPass (which is valid for travel only within San Francisco); the next southbound stop, Daly City Station, is just outside San Francisco, across the San Mateo County border in suburban Daly City
.
Balboa Park Station serves as an official transfer station
in the BART system. Although all four BART lines that pass through the station currently continue southward to Daly City, the Balboa Park Station design offers passengers transfers between trains without having to change platforms. The station also serves as a major intermodal
hub by its multiple local transit connections.
Service at this station began on November 3, 1973.
Balboa Park has been a a de facto transfer station since 1996 because that was when Colma opened and has been noted as such for stations south of Daly City since 2003 when the San Francisco Airport extension was built.
In 2011 a new entrance was opened on the north side of the station to facilitate access to San Francisco City College. The new entrance replaces cumbersome pedestrian routes along steep hills, back allies, and Muni train tracks with a tight clearance against a wall, all to use the original south side entrance. The entrance is a rampway from Ocean Avenue however there is no station agent at this end but an intercom and sliding gate was installed for contacting him or her.
boarding platforms with a centrally located, at-grade entrance area covering its midsection, such that a significant amount of sunlight can penetrate the uncovered platform areas at each end of the station. The midsection at-grade level spans the platform area using a series of open arches, and most of the interior walls are finished with rough-textured concrete.
The original architects of the station were Corlett & Spackman and Ernest Born
. Born also designed the decorative station graphics.
Bay Area Rapid Transit
Bay Area Rapid Transit is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area. The heavy-rail public transit and subway system connects San Francisco with cities in the East Bay and suburbs in northern San Mateo County. BART operates five lines on of track with 44 stations in four counties...
station located south of Balboa Park in southern San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
. It consists of two main tracks and a single island platform
Island platform
An island platform is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange...
. Interstate 280
Interstate 280 (California)
Interstate 280 is a 57-mile long north–south Interstate Highway in the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It connects San Jose and San Francisco, running along just to the west of the cities of San Francisco Peninsula for most of its route.I-280 from its northern end at King...
runs along the west side of the station, and City College of San Francisco
City College of San Francisco
City College of San Francisco, or CCSF, is a two-year community college in San Francisco, California. The Ocean Avenue campus, in the Ingleside neighborhood, is the college's primary location...
is to the north.
Balboa Park is currently the busiest BART station outside downtown San Francisco, with seven San Francisco Muni
San Francisco Municipal Railway
The San Francisco Municipal Railway is the public transit system for the city and county of San Francisco, California. In 2006, it served with an operating budget of about $700 million...
bus lines and three Muni Metro
Muni Metro
Muni Metro is a light rail system serving San Francisco, California, operated by the San Francisco Municipal Railway , a division of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency...
lines connecting in the vicinity. In addition, the station is popular with passengers who kiss and ride, due to its proximity to Interstate 280, a major commuter route into San Francisco. The station is the southernmost in the BART system that passengers can access using an SF Muni FastPass (which is valid for travel only within San Francisco); the next southbound stop, Daly City Station, is just outside San Francisco, across the San Mateo County border in suburban Daly City
Daly City, California
Daly City is the largest city in San Mateo County, California, United States, with a 2010 population of 101,123. Located immediately south of San Francisco, it is named in honor of businessman and landowner John Daly.-History:...
.
Balboa Park Station serves as an official transfer station
Transfer station
A transfer station is a building or processing site for the temporary deposition of waste. Transfer stations are often used as places where local waste collection vehicles will deposit their waste cargo prior to loading into larger vehicles...
in the BART system. Although all four BART lines that pass through the station currently continue southward to Daly City, the Balboa Park Station design offers passengers transfers between trains without having to change platforms. The station also serves as a major intermodal
Intermodal passenger transport
Intermodal passenger transport involves more than one mode of transport of passengers. Some modes of transportation have always been intermodal; for example, most major airports have extensive facilities for automobile parking and have good rail or bus connections to the cities nearby. Urban bus...
hub by its multiple local transit connections.
Service at this station began on November 3, 1973.
Balboa Park has been a a de facto transfer station since 1996 because that was when Colma opened and has been noted as such for stations south of Daly City since 2003 when the San Francisco Airport extension was built.
In 2011 a new entrance was opened on the north side of the station to facilitate access to San Francisco City College. The new entrance replaces cumbersome pedestrian routes along steep hills, back allies, and Muni train tracks with a tight clearance against a wall, all to use the original south side entrance. The entrance is a rampway from Ocean Avenue however there is no station agent at this end but an intercom and sliding gate was installed for contacting him or her.
Architecture
Unlike most other BART stations, which are either completely underground with artificial lighting, or elevated and open to natural daylight, Balboa Park Station has a trench-like design of uncovered, below-gradeGrade separation
Grade separation is the method of aligning a junction of two or more transport axes at different heights so that they will not disrupt the traffic flow on other transit routes when they cross each other. The composition of such transport axes does not have to be uniform; it can consist of a...
boarding platforms with a centrally located, at-grade entrance area covering its midsection, such that a significant amount of sunlight can penetrate the uncovered platform areas at each end of the station. The midsection at-grade level spans the platform area using a series of open arches, and most of the interior walls are finished with rough-textured concrete.
The original architects of the station were Corlett & Spackman and Ernest Born
Ernest Born
Ernest Born was an architect and artist who lived and worked in the San Francisco Bay Area.Born studied architecture at the University of California, Berkeley, graduating from the school of Architecture in 1922 and earning a masters degree in 1923.Born designed signage for the Bay Area Rapid...
. Born also designed the decorative station graphics.