Bicycle Connector Project improves bike access to Ashby Station

BART is investing in small improvements that make immense differences to pedestrians and bicyclists entering and exiting our stations, and the Ashby BART Bicycle Access Improvement Project is case in point.  

The project was completed in December 2024 on time and on budget and provides safer bicycle connections to BART from the west and east thanks to a new bike lane that closes a gap in Berkeley’s bike network between two major thoroughfares. The project also installed directional curb ramps on a highly trafficked entrance to align curbs with the intersection’s crosswalks.   

It's not just BART riders benefitting from these improvements, but everyone using the streets around the station, whether pedestrian, cyclist, or driver.  

“It’s always satisfying seeing what you worked so hard for being put to good use," said Matthew Hembd, BART Resident Engineer on the project. “I feel very proud to have taken part in something that has left such a positive and lasting impression on the commuters and people of Berkeley.” 

To execute the improvements, BART worked in collaboration with the City of Berkeley, which owns and maintains the roads and crossings around the station. In the spring, the city began construction on crossing improvements for two major streets, Adeline and MLK Jr. Way.  

“A project like this highlights what great things can be done here at BART when we all work together,” Hembd added.   

Watch a video of the bike lane here 

BART’s Maintenance Department played a key role in executing the vision – from grinding and demolition to spreading and compacting the asphalt – with minimal disruption to the public and a fast timeline.  

“Along with BART’s painters and grounds crews, they were able to transform the area into a place that is much more attractive and modern looking, which many people will appreciate for years to come,” cheered Hembd.  

Heath Maddox, BART Bicycle Access Program Manager and a former North Oakland resident, knows firsthand how significantly cyclists and pedestrians will benefit from these upgrades. For five years, before his career took him to BART, Maddox commuted to and from Ashby Station. At the same time, his children were in preschool across from the station.  

"Our family was doing a lot of traversing of BART property to pick up and drop off kids, usually via cargo bike, so the need to improve bike entries and exits on the west side was very apparent to me," Maddox said. “I always thought that these improvements could be easily legitimized with fairly modest changes to circulation using paint and signage, but even as a city bike/pedestrian planner, for some reason it never crossed my mind to suggest to BART that they do something about it. Then, years later, I found myself in a position – perhaps the position – to spur action from the inside. The rest, including all the great work by BART’s Matthew Hembd and Mariana Parreiras, is history.”