Berkeley, California

Berkeley is a city in the San Francisco Bay Area of northern California, in the United States. Its neighbor to the south is the city of Oakland, California. Its eastern border is formed by the Tilden Regional Park. Berkeley is located in Alameda County. Home to the University of California, Berkeley, the city is known for its leftist politics, eclectic mix of residents, nuclear research, and gourmet food.

Transportation

Berkeley is served by Amtrak, AC Transit and several employer shuttles. The only major freeway is Interstate 80. Despite the fact that all students at the University of California, Berkeley receive an AC Transit bus pass, each day there is an influx of thousands of cars into the city by commuting UC faculty, staff and students, making parking for more than a few hours an expensive proposition.

Related Topics:
Amtrak - AC Transit - Interstate 80 - University of California, Berkeley

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Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is also a popular form of transportation, with the following stations: Downtown Berkeley Station, North Berkeley Station, and Ashby Station.

Related Topics:
Bay Area Rapid Transit - Downtown Berkeley Station - North Berkeley Station - Ashby Station

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Berkeley has one of the highest rates of bicycle and pedestrian commuting in the nation. Berkeley is the safest city of its size for pedestrians and cyclists, a fact that new research is attributing to a safety in numbers effect. (Prior widely published data from the California Office of Traffic Safety had failed to account for levels of use. Compared to other similar California cities, Berkeley has four times the injury rate per 1,000 population, but six times the number of cyclists.)

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Berkeley has modified its original grid roadway structure through use of diverters and barriers, moving most traffic out of neighborhoods and onto arterial streets (visitors often find this confusing, because the diverters are not shown on all maps). Berkeley maintains a separate grid of arterial streets, Bicycle Boulevards, where conditions, in theory, have been tweaked to favor bicycle travel.

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Berkeley hosts a car sharing network run by City CarShare. Rather than owning (and parking) their own cars, members share a group of cars parked nearby. Online reservation systems keep track of hours and charges.

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