Commuting from Walnut Creek to the East Bay
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Commuting from Walnut Creek to the East Bay
Sept 2007
I am hoping to get a sense for how long it will take from Walnut
Creek/Pleasant Hill at the Geary Blvd exit to the top of Moeser
at Arlington in El Cerrito by 9AM sharp on a weekday morning.
What time would you have to leave? How bad is the westward
traffic? How long does it take at that hour to get from Geary
Blvd to the Caldecott Tunnel?
thank you
Maybe try taking san pablo dam road at Orinda heading to
richmond, left on san pablo avenue in richmond, left on
clinton, right on the arlington. that takes you to the top of
moeser. Might be faster than trying to get thru the caldecot.
estimated time? difficult to say. 45 min if you are lucky. a
begillion hours if you are not.
Sean
I have the perfect tool for you. Go to 511.org, click on the
traffic tab at the top, then click on Predict-a-Trip in the
left hand navigation bar. This tool lets you enter a trip
starting point and ending point and pick a time of day that you
plan to travel. It calculates the historical driving time for
that trip at that time of day. Give it a try!
Friend of 511
I don't have an exact answer to your question, but if I were
you I would check the traffic report in the morning and
consider the following alternate route if there is a backup at
the Caldecott:
Take 24 to San Pablo Dam Road. Follow SPD into El Sobrante and
get on 80 at either El Portal or the end of SPD. Exit at
McBryde, just an exit or two later, and get on Arlington where
it begins, at the end of McBryde near Alvarado Park. Then you
have a relaxing 5-10 minute drive on Arlington to Moeser. With
this route you avoid the frequent backups that occur at the
580/80 interchange (near Ikea)as well as the very congested
Central Ave. exit in El Cerrito off of 80.
liza
I live around that area and commute to the Arlington/Barrett. It
takes
about 45 minutes. I would suggest that instead of taking the 680
to 24
that you go up Geary until it turns in to Pleasant Hill Road. take
that south all the way to hwy 24 . It's much faster than going on the
fwy. there are always cops (highway patrol for some reason) right
there on Pl. Hill rd, so don't speed. Instead of taking the tunnel,
exit at Orinda and take San Pablo Dam road. it gets a little
backed up
at the light in Orinda (again, don't speed!) but it's worth it. YOu
bypass all that mess in Berkeley and Emeryville. You take this road
all the way thru el sobrante, to Richmond and get on 880 south. then
take whatever exit you need to. good luck.
anon
There is no easy way to do this commute and to be honest, it is
an awful one. You could drive on 680 and 24 and exit either San
Pablo Dam Road or Fish Ranch Road depending on how bad traffic is
to the tunnel. Then either take Fish Ranch Road to Grizzly Peak
Boulevard and take that all the way to Marin Ave. Or take San
Pablo Dam Road all the way to Wildcat Canyon Road and take that
to Grizzly Peak Boulevard and then to Marin Ave. At Marin Ave
follow that down to the circle and then turn on Arlington and
drive to Moeser. Going through the tunnel would be impossible
with the traffic and then the traffic in the MacArthur Maze.
Going the other way over highway 4 or San Pablo Dam Road all the
way to Pinole and then coming back to El Cerrito would also have
multiple traffic jams and be awful. You'll need a minimum of one
hour on a good day and up to two hours on a bad day to do this
commute.
Anon
Jan 2006
What would you advise as the best way to commute from Walnut
Creek to a UCB office which is located at Hearst & Oxford? I
know that it's only about 6 blocks to walk from Downtown
Berkeley BART to that location, but there is the time factor to
consider as well for driving to WC BART, parking, waiting for
the train, transferring at MacArthur and waiting for the
Richmond Train, then walking to the office, and doing all of
that in reverse at the end of the day. At the same time, there
appears to be a UCB parking garage (Oxford Garage?) right there
as well. I realize driving includes the cost of the parking
garage (how much would that be for FT staff?) as well as gas. At
the same time, BART prices just went up and soon you'll have to
pay for parking at Walnut Creek BART. Anybody out there live in
Walnut Creek and commute to UCB? How do you do it and why have
you chosen to do it that way? Oh yes, the other information
necessary to advise me is what time of day am I talking about:
I'd need to start work between 7am and 7:30 am, and would be
leaving work at 4pm. Thanks!
drive or BART?
I've been commuting from Lafayette to UCB for 2.5 years and know
2 other people who commute from Pleasant Hill BART to UCB -I highly recommend BART over the car. Traffic can be very bad coming through the tunnel in the morning and then traffic through Berkeley to campus can be terrible as well. The transfer at MacArthur is easy with virtually no wait in the mornings; the pm transfer I typically wait about 5 minutes for a train. Very occasionally there are delays but in my experience they are pretty rare. I commute about the same hours as what you listed; sometimes the trains are very crowded; I wouldn't count on finding a seat all the time (except after the transfer, the trains are less crowded to/from Berkeley). For time efficiency, you can bring work to read on the train - or a novel, or write letters, plan the day - you get the idea. It can be time used, not wasted.
I can't speak to parking at WC BART; both people I know commuting from Pleasant Hill bike to the station - you might consider that option as well. I live within walking distance of the Lafayette station.
As for BART fare, as FT staff, you are eligible to sign up for a commute program through campus where you buy BART tickets pre-tax each month - and they arrive in the mail.
I find BART to be dependable and low stress. Plus it's better for the environment.
BART fan
I would drive--but don't park on campus. You can go part of the way on 24, to Orinda, then go through Tilden and park on one of the side streets off Euclid, then walk or take a bus to campus.
It's a well-known secret that you can park beyond the 2 hour limit up in the hills. I think this would save you time and money!
long-term parker
BART!!!
Hands down, BART. Have you ever sat in the traffic from Walnut Creek heading into the East Bay/ SF? I have seen it...it is terrible.
Have you looked at the schedule for the BART?
Parking in downtown Berkeley will be $$$!!!
Coming home in the evening, if you drive, the freeway looks like a parking lot.
The walk from Berkeley BART will be fine. You will be more relaxed and more sane.
Rachel
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