Comments on: Parking will be tight at new Trader Joe’s

By: Kymba

Kymba — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 17:22:39 +0000

Are there bike-racks at this TJ’s? I’ve taken the bus past it four or five times and I either can’t see or forget.. anyone know offhand? Or even better – are there photos of the finished front anywhere I can look at online real quick before I head over that way?

By: Shoppers rush right in to new Trader Joe’s – Berkeleyside

Shoppers rush right in to new Trader Joe’s – Berkeleyside — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 00:04:00 +0000

[...] only 48 parking spaces at the store, and neighbors are worried that Trader Joe’s customers will make an already tight parking situation even more difficult. Berkeley is designating some areas around the store as residential parking [...]

By: Tiffany

Tiffany — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 22:24:04 +0000

I am a neighbor and I have been really looking forward to the store opening! My only wish would be that the TJ’s parking lot could stay open after hours so that neighbors or visiting friends could park there… however, I know that it won’t be very likely since homeless people might camp out in there as well. :P

This location is 10 minutes walking distance from 2 BART stations and I think that it will be great for UC Berkeley students! Even those that don’t have cars since it is near the 51 bus line.

By: Go Round

Go Round — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 19:32:38 +0000

The Emery Go Round shuttle is a private transportation service, funded solely by commercial property owners in the citywide transportation business improvement district.

Emery Go Round is a service of the Emeryville Transportation Management Association, a non-profit organization whose primary purpose is to increase access and mobility to, from and within Emeryville while alleviating congestion through operati on of the shuttle program. The TMA Board of Directors, which also serves as the official representative of property owners for the Business Improvement District, determines tax assessment rates as well as the level of shuttle service on an annual basis.

We are always interested in your feedback.
Phone: (510)451-3862
Email: info@emerygoround.com

Mailing:
Emeryville TMA
1300 67th St
Emeryville, CA 94608

Peter Oswald, Executive Director
Doug Patterson, Project Manager

Board of Directors (2008)

Denise Pinkston, TMG Partners – President
Bob Cantor, Emeryville Chamber of Commerce – Vice President
Geoff Sears, Wareham Development – Secretary/Treas.
Sandy Brownstone – Hines
Lisa Finnin-Ciccoli – IKEA
Al DeGroot – Novartis
Gerald Hackett – Pixar Animation Studios
Robert Portilla – BRE/Avenue 64
Danelle Roth – Catellus
Ron Weller – MMRS/Bay Street

By: EBGuy

EBGuy — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 18:55:36 +0000

What’s most entertaining about all this is that people living near a major commercial street are trying to control the usage of public street space.
During the most contentious time when this building was being argued before the City Council, I was tempted to go to one of the meetings and complain about the privatization of the Berkeley Way/Grant block SW of the store due to the addition of the traffic barrier cul-de-sac just south of the TJs entrance. That would have sent the locals into a tizzy. To be fair, though, those folks are still going to get hosed, as their neighborhood seems the most natural to be hit for TJ’s over flow parking (right on MLK, right on University, right on Berkeley Way). While I’m not a great fan of the the single side of the street ‘privatization’, it seems like a decent compromise. More parking fine revenue for the city!

But, as looking at EBguy above, he drove to El Cerrito to shop at TJ.
Honestly, I did try to convince my wife that schlepping 2 kids and groceries six miles in a Burley trailer would be fun; she thinks otherwise.

By: CJ Higley

CJ Higley — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 16:34:04 +0000

I am a TJ neighbor and I am thrilled! My life will be improved tremendously now that I can walk to a full service grocery store. June 11 can’t come soon enough.

By: deirdre

deirdre — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 04:47:47 +0000

I suspect the incentives in Berkeley today are far different from the mix of economic interests which first gave rise to Emery-go-round. When nascent biotech companies were first seeking highly-educated, child-free workers, I guess they could put a lot of attention into interesting transit options and ambitious retail/housing projects like BayStreet. I’m sure things must be changing there somewhat. (Although Emeryville can still rent out public school campus space to the Piedmont school district to relocate entire schools to Emeryville so that Piedmont schools can be modernized and renovated, which indicates that kids must not be a big factor in civic planning yet…)

Which is why I raised the notion of a one-day-a-week pilot program. And I don’t know what the economic model might be.

Maybe get some of the AC transit transbay drivers who only work those weird “am rush hour plus pm rush hour” shifts (per union contract) could trade away one or two of those shifts to do a Saturday shift. (The fact that I’m even posing a suggestion that would require a shift in the union contract is evidence of my obvious idealistic ignorance about these things….)

Maybe experiment with one of those odd taxi-cum-bus jitney systems which thrive in parts of India: the taxi (size of small bus) takes off on a fore-ordained route whenever they get the requisite 8 to 10 passengers who pay a standard fare (which is cheaper than a taxi but more costly than typical India public bus).

The local employers large enough to join in creating the system would probably be Bayer, UC, Lawrence Berkeley Lab, City College, a joint affiliation of Fourth Street merchants, Alta Bates, and the soon-to-be-formed Joint Powers Authority of Berkeleyside commenters.

By: Thomas Lord

Thomas Lord — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 20:24:09 +0000

but wouldn’t the arrival of TJ’s on University be a great reason to experiment with some transit innovations? Emeryville friends are happy with the Emery-go-round shuttle service from BART to business, shopping, and back. Woudn’t it be cool if we could pilot a Saturday-only shuttle linking BART (all Berkeley stations), Farmer’s Market, Strawberry Canyon Pool (now that parking is obliterated), 4th Street, Marina, the soccer fields …. all those weekend things that would be so great to access?

I don’t mean to be too forward. We’ve never met so far as I know. I’m happily married man so I don’t mean this that way but: I think I love you.

More Shuttles: Yes, please. How can we work this issue?

Is the Emery-go-round publicly or privately funded? Who operates it? What are start-up costs like? What is the experience of other jurisdictions? Can such a shuttle share bus-stop space (and shelters) with AC Transit? Can such shuttles accommodate bike racks (as on buses)? What are the options for cargo carrying (as in bags of groceries and/or business-to-business transport)? What fancy options might be available for on-demand scheduling and routing with high accessibility? Which Council members might be most likely to invest a bit in exploring the options? What do the academic transportation guys up the hill have to say about adding shuttles (other than those already extant for Cal, LBL, etc.) into the mix – can they sanity check the notion? How can local big employers and big retailers help? What, if any, local ordinances or ordinance changes are needed?

I’ve mentioned in passing on this blog and elsewhere a few times my very vague notion that Berkeley should concentrate on having parking at the periphery and a lot of flyweight intracity options like shuttles, indeed with the BART stations as hubs. I’ve just never been in a position to (or at least never quite seen how I’m in a position to) turn the vague notion into something to be studied and perhaps implemented.

Your flyweight pilot project suggestion sounds like a very promising idea.

By: deirdre

deirdre — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 20:00:12 +0000

I’m not thrilled by the new structure for a host of smaller reasons… not a huge TJ fan, feel it imposes an undue burden on those who live near it, etc…. but wouldn’t the arrival of TJ’s on University be a great reason to experiment with some transit innovations? Emeryville friends are happy with the Emery-go-round shuttle service from BART to business, shopping, and back. Woudn’t it be cool if we could pilot a Saturday-only shuttle linking BART (all Berkeley stations), Farmer’s Market, Strawberry Canyon Pool (now that parking is obliterated), 4th Street, Marina, the soccer fields …. all those weekend things that would be so great to access?

By: Kathy with a k

Kathy with a k — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 16:50:06 +0000

Moved to Berk after 20 years in the mission. Avid walker. Two things have surprised and disappointed me about this mostly fabulous town: I hardly ever see other pedestrians, and no small markets are open after 7 pm when I get off BART.
I will walk a mile N then some to TJs and enjoy it, but I’d rather shop at Country Cheese around the corner – but the deli closes at 5 pm and they aren’t open on Sundays.