Lake Merritt BART Station

Pros :
1) Underground so practically safe and sound from weather issues.
2) The information center has at least 2 staff to answer queries and resolve clipper issues.
3) Cleaner than regular Bart stations.
4) Easy to find parking
Cons:
1) Due to its underground factor there’s a level of creepiness during night time.
2) Bart police not so keen cleaning up homeless n druggies from dungeons.
3) Restroom had a homeless sleeping in once with doors locked for like 8 hrs

This is a review for the whole Bart. Bart has wonderful front office staff always. Bart is great because of its accessibility and parking as well schedule. Bart needs to massively improve its cleanliness and need to enforce non loitering. It seems that on a daily basis the seats and floors do not get wiped or mopped as you can still smell in the morning and all day trace of all kinds of body fluids. Bart would need to enforce also the ridership of patrons with valid Bart tickets and rides to ensure that seats are available legitimately as well as passenger comfort and safety. There are no Bart inspectors checking tickets. Compared to the trains in Asia and Europe, Bart needs to be massively improved hygiene and cleanliness side and ridership with valid tickets. I would pay a little bit more to make this happen.

Very convenient to use when working near Lake Merritt & Highland Hospital. Safe and clean

If the station agent Carolina is on duty, hope you do not have a restroom emergency. She will not budge to let you go, she’d let you pee on yourself first. Horrible experience and please know not to get off at Lake Merritt if you have a restroom emergency. :(

Bart station at Lake Merritt was closed this morning. I understand that as complex and old system as Bart is it will face issues quite often. What I’m disappointed about is that when the issue occurred this morning that caused closure of the service in both directions the operator was not able to give any information such as what the reason is, what is the estimated time for restoring the service, what are the other options, how to get to the other options… Just useless. I like Bart and rely on it but it should be ready for situations like this.

The result of a major delay due to a broken track.

And it is as good as it gets, until more funding is approved and they, whoever they are, decide to upgrade the trains and facilities. Neighborhood is OK, even at night, though I recommend hanging out in the lighted area just to be a tad safer. Occasionally you will see BART officers, even sheriffs grace the place with their presence but overall, as with other stations, you are on your own, so be aware of your surroundings. Should you not feel like waiting for your bus, there are usually cabs nearby for use on Oak at 8^th St.

Pretty clean location. Street meter parking, free after 6 pm and on Sundays. Make sure you double check the signs.
Paid $ 1.89 for a one way ticket to Oracle Arena.

I work nearby but before I did I would often park at Lake Merritt BART Station after 3pm when I went to A’s games, that way I’m only a couple stops away and don’t have to pay $ 20+ for parking inside the coliseum area.
Lake Merritt BART Station may not be glamorous and have a bunch of retail and amenities above it but is has a convenient location of being in the certain of the network and being able to get on all the different lines.

Get off here to walk to Oakland Chinatown, Lake Merritt, and Laney College.
The Highland Hospital shuttle stops at the Bart parking lot every 12 minutes so it is easy to reach the county hospital. Be sure to exit with the stairs by the huge painted LANEY COLLEGE lettering to end up at the parking lot.
The parking lot is small and is full most of the times I get off here. It does seem like most of the people parking there are not riding Bart though. Oh well.
The inside of the station and its Bart platforms are not bad. It is nice enough waiting for the trains and there are places to sit. There tend to be homeless outside the station so expect that odor upon entry or exit.

«Oh the sights you’ll see!»
A poem by Casey S.
Oh the sights you see
as you enter Lake Merritt BART
Ladies doing yoga
An old man with a cart
The platform is well secure
If a little tired
Then again when it’s time for work
I am also tired
This station is nothing fancy
But it doesn’t have to be
I’m terrible at rhyming
So I’ll end right now
Also, the free Estuary Shuttle is a godsend.

This station is the closest to my home in Alameda. It also is the station that I used every weekday for at least 6−½ years (until July 2013 — BART Strike) for my daily commute to and from work in San Francisco.
One thing I like about this station is the fact it is within walking distance to Oakland Chinatown, the Oakland Museum and of course, County of Alameda Superior Court. However, the one thing I don’t care about this station is that pissy smell when I exit the station, especially the parking lot area.
I remember several years ago, some guy went to use the men’s restroom and he was in there for a hella long time. BART agents and BART police knocked on the door; the guy was still in there. After a while, when nobody was around, he exited the restroom. I told the station agent that I saw a white guy exited the restroom. He and the officers went to check. Y’all ain’t gonna believe what they saw… a very wet bathroom floor. Yep, the guy was bathing himself in the restroom… damn. SMH and ewww!!! A custodian was called in to mop up the floor and clean the restroom.
Between this station and the Civic Center Station in San Francisco, I don’t know which one is worse for different reasons. I’m just glad that I don’t have to do a daily commute anymore involving these two stations.

I love the location because it’s right by Chinatown and walking distance from downtown.
Usually safe because the BART HQ is right there and always BART police around.
Only thing that could be improved is cell service for AT&T downstairs, very spotty.

Taking the Bart today reminded me of simpler days.
Yes there’s the urine smell walking down the stairs, but then there’s old Chinese folks at the bottom playing some kind of kick ball? Makes me wonder. There’s a lot of stuff going on here. Some ghetto kid looks at me and says nice kicks. I forget that its my day off and I have air max 95 patent leather on. While I board I notice they re did the seats, its not fabric stuff anymore, but pleather, which is at welcomed sight. Straps for short people come in handy if you are Asian atnd hopping on during busy commute. Well big ups to the improvements and hopefully looking forward to more. Oh snaps I’m in the tunnel updating and ite goes thru! Yeeeeee hawwwwwww!

Lake Merritt Bart is my embarking point to s.f. when i get the urge. sure, there’s no public parking. however, there are 4 hour parking spots a few blocks away. also
some streets have no time limit.
can usually score s spot in the mornings. not sure about the afternoons. trains past here to s.f. every 10
it’s not a long wait. lines aren’t long either.
best thing, train aren’t full (post 10 a.m.) so i almost always get a seat.
even if the escalators aren’t working, it’s not a long walk. cool bart station!
sites of interest nearby:
–oakland museum
–chinatown
–laney college
–courthouse/​law library/​country administative offices
–lake merritt.
note: there are 3 entrances to this station, the one across from bart h.q. is the least congested with hanger-​ons, panhandlers et al. coincidentally, the bart police park their cars near this entrance.

Clean, efficient and not too overcrowded, even at 8 am on a Monday morning.
Everybody was super helpful in helping this BART virgin find her way around!

I don’t hate this Bart — it’s super close to my work and the closest station to the east side of Jack London, the south end of Lake Merritt (near Lake Chalet), and Chinatown.
My biggest gripe is that you CANNOT leave your bike there and trust that it will be where you left it when you get back. This are (including Laney College) is a prime target for bike thieves. One of my co-​workers tied his bike up to a stand using a special, heavy-​duty braided metal cord. When he got back, he found that someone had tried to cut through the cord. Fortunately, his was extra thick. A lesser cord would have cut through.
I also wouldn’t trust parking my car in the area overnight. I frequently see shattered glass along 11^th Street. Parking in the BART lot (tiny as it is) may be safer, be smart and don’t leave anything lying around in your car.

I recently moved to Oakland and this is home station. I commute from Oakland to San Francisco Monday thru Friday so it’s a helpful stop. Moreover, I’m taking classes in the morning at Laney this fall so my commute from school to work will be quick and easy.
It’s not the best BART station, but it isn’t the worst either.
My visits are generally run down the stairs, through the gates and onto the platform. I have a had a few times where my ticket wouldn’t process, but the BART agent fixed it quickly and politely.
From what I’ve seen, it isn’t the best place to bring your bike. Moreover, you can’t park in the lot until 10am unless you have a yearly permit or have a reserved permit you purchased in advance. I believe the reserved ones cost $ 4.50.
Be careful waiting outside for people you don’t want to have conversations with may try to chat you up.
For those who commute, you know that in the mornings the trains are really full once they hit our stop. In turn, getting a seat in the morning is pretty much a NO. As a result I’ve gotten really good at BART surfing and reading standing up.
Otherwise, Lake Merritt BART Station gets you where you need to be when you need to be there.
Until next time, happy traveling!

My home BART station is one of the worst. The landscaping outside is dreadful, garbage piled up everywhere. There are homeless people milling around outside, and the elevator is their personal lavatory. It’s VILE, FILTHY and DISGUSTING,
Sure, I know BART had to close the restrooms after 911, but they’ve had a DECADE to figure out another alternative to the elevator. I have to use it every time I wheel a stroller down to the BART. Seriously, I gag every time. It smells like pee, and soemtimes there’s poop stains up the walls. EW EW EW. There is no excuse for that.
Also, I am #600 something on the parking permit waiting list. Maybe you should turn that lot into a parking garage– WITH A DAMN TOILET!

Always came here to this Bart Station everytime I got dropped off back in high school. To this day, I still come here. Why? Parking is ample (you can park in a choice of two lots – one covered and the other uncovered) and you can even park on side-​streets, which is free, or in the Laney College lot too (but not past 10pm). So parking is truly easy to find and cheap (free on the side streets or discounted at 50 cents for the Laney Lot).
A lot of times when I miss my train (or feel that I’ll miss my train) at the Fruitvale Bart Station (the other station I use often), I head out to the Lake Merritt BART station. The drive takes about 3 – 4 minutes by freeway, and the time that the Bart takes to go from Lake Merritt to Fruitvale is 6 minutes, so it’s easy to be dropped off (and be on time) at either station if you miss a train at either station.
What do I love most about this Bart Station? It’s proximity to Chinatown, its proximity to Laney College (especially for those taking classes there), its cleanliness and tidiness, and its enclosure in a safe, security-​patrolled area. Even though Lake Merritt BART is in Oakland, it’s one of the safest BART stations. Plus, since it’s underground, it’s free from the cold wintery winds of the Bay Area… so waiting for your train is not too big of a deal since it’s warm down there!