A Decade-Plus in the Making—Transit Village Comes to a Posh Bay Area Suburb

The city of Walnut Creek, located in the East San Francisco Bay Area, will soon gain 600 new, transit-adjacent apartments and a whole lot of parking.

1 minute read

September 7, 2017, 1:00 PM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


BART Map

sevenMaps7 / Shutterstock

Earlier this week, BART and Walnut Creek officials "helped kick off a long-planned 'transit village' project that will include not only the added [900-stall BART] parking and [600 new] apartments but 12,000 square feet of retail space," reports Sam Richards.

The premise of the article is whether the new development will be a help or a hindrance to the city's congestion. BART officials and the developer of the project say transit oriented development will reduce traffic.

The article includes more details about the project, which was first presented in draft form by Walnut Creek planners in 2005.

The Walnut Creek transit village isn't the only transit oriented development coming soon to the suburban reaches of the BART system. "BART board member [Rebecca] Saltzman said the Walnut Creek Transit Village will be the newest of several others either already online (Pleasant Hill/Contra Costa Centre, BART Coliseum) or farther along in planning or construction (San Leandro, El Cerrito). BART’s formal goal, she said, is for 20,000 new housing units near its stations by 2040," according to Richards.

Wednesday, September 6, 2017 in The Mercury News

Young Professional

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

Get top-rated, practical training for planners

Overlapping highways

The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin

People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.

September 8, 2026 - Benjamin Schneider

The Hoover Dam blocking the Colorado River. The river's water level is noticeably low. The cliffs surrounding the blue water are brown and jagged.

US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico

A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.

September 11, 2026 - The Arizona Republic

Skyscrapers in Jersey City.

New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers

Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.

September 4, 2026 - The Cool Down

A New Jersey train approaches people waiting at the station.

Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds

A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.

September 15 - Mass Transit

A tall, gray power plant billows smoke into a blue sky.

EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants

Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.

September 15 - New York Times

A white RAPID bus. The lower half is light blue, and says RAPID in purple text. The bus is half visible, appearing from the left side of the image.

Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses

Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.

September 15 - KJZZ

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.