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BART Restrooms Now Open at Montgomery & Lake Merritt

Two more underground stations have reopened their bathrooms, closed since 9/11, with restroom attendants
By - posted 6/29/2022 No Comment

BART reopened two more underground restrooms on June 28th as BART continues to focus on improving the rider experience with new amenities.

Gender-neutral restrooms at Montgomery Street Station in San Francisco and Lake Merritt Station in Oakland are now open for use with the addition of restroom attendants, who are on duty during all hours the stations are opened to greet riders and discourage unwanted behavior.

BART is prioritizing the reopening of clean restrooms as part of our strategy to gain ridership on nights and weekends and to better serve families taking BART to fun activities.

The Montgomery Street restroom has refreshed tiles, a repainted ceiling, and energy-efficient and brighter LED lighting and a new hand dryer. It is located on the concourse level near the Montgomery/Post/Sutter entrance not far from the main Station Agents Booth.

“Montgomery Street Station is one of the busiest stations in the entire BART system,” said BART Board Vice President Janice Li. “Especially as our ridership returns, BART riders deserve basic amenities like safe, clean restroom facilities at our stations. I’m proud that BART is prioritizing and investing in the reopening of restrooms in downtown San Francisco, with attended restrooms now open at Powell Street and Montgomery Street.”

At Oakland’s Lake Merritt Station, the reopened restroom has been enhanced by repainting walls, refreshing tiles, replacing light fixtures with energy efficient LED lights, and installing hand dryers. It is located on the concourse level near the Customer Services Center.

Early Success and Phased Approach to Reopening

Restrooms at 10 of BART’s underground stations had been closed since 9/11 because of safety concerns, but redesigned restrooms at Powell Street and 19th Street/Oakland stations opened in February with the addition of restroom attendants. The Powell restroom has a daily average use of 212 people many being families with strollers and mobility-impaired users. 19th Street/Oakland has 110 users on average. These restrooms have far fewer requests for maintenance and repairs due to the presence of attendants.

BART is taking a phased approach to reopening restrooms at the remaining underground stations based on available funding. Work is currently underway at Downtown Berkeley and Embarcadero station restrooms with the plan of reopening in Fiscal Year 23. The remaining underground restrooms, all requiring extensive renovations, are at 12th St./Oakland, Civic Center, 16th St. Mission and 24th St. Mission stations.

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