The Curb Near El Cerrito Plaza BART Is Getting Rules. Both Proposals Leave Weekends Alone

The surface lots at El Cerrito Plaza BART have 742 parking spaces. When the housing planned for those lots is finished, BART riders will have 145. The city's August 27 town hall presentation says plainly where the difference goes: "More BART riders will park on-street."

That puts the streets around the Plaza at the center of a decision El Cerrito will make in spring 2027. The city has floated two ways to manage those curbs. They differ in plenty of details, but both are built around the same window, Monday through Friday from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m., and the same two-hour line. If you live, shop or host guests near the station, the question that matters is who gets to stay past two hours on a weekday, and who pays to do it.

The first building is already rising on the lot

Construction started this year. The state marked the groundbreaking for the first phase, known as Parcel A South, in a March 6, 2026 announcement. It's a six-story building with 70 affordable homes for households earning 30% to 60% of area median income, developed by Related California and Holliday Development. SF YIMBY reported on March 9 that foundation work was underway at 515 Richmond Street, the corner where Richmond Street, Central Avenue and the Ohlone Greenway meet. Related California's project page puts the building on about half an acre of an existing 1.5-acre BART surface lot. The building is expected to be finished sometime in 2027.

Parcel A South is the first of six phases. The full project calls for 743 homes, 2,100 square feet of commercial space, public open space and a new 145-space BART garage. The developer says timing for the later phases depends on funding. So the drop to 145 rider spaces will happen in steps over several years. The city is writing the curb rules before that happens.

Residents of the new buildings will have their own parking, 266 spaces across the project, or about one for every three homes. The city's August presentation also says new residents of the development won't be eligible for resident street permits. That detail matters for neighbors, because it means a resident permit on the surrounding blocks will stay tied to the existing homes there.

The street has room today

On paper, El Cerrito isn't short of parking yet. The city counts about 3,000 on-street spaces within a ten-minute walk of the station. At peak, 61% of the spaces near the station were occupied. The city's target is 85%, the point where a driver circling the block can still expect to find an open spot.

The 61% figure covers the whole area, though, and the city's data shows it isn't spread evenly. Blocks with no restrictions can reach 100%, and the same presentation describes "more uniform rules" as the way to fix that. Some streets already fill completely while others a few minutes away have open spaces. Spreading cars across those blocks is the main purpose of the time limits and paid parking.

Building more parking isn't on the table. The city's presentation puts a garage at $70,000 to $100,000 per space and notes that the housing project is "Not the City's decision" because it is enabled by state law. The city's parking site explains that the project was approved in 2024 as required under AB 2923. At those prices, replacing the roughly 600 BART spaces that are going away with garage parking would cost tens of millions of dollars. That leaves the curb to do the work.

Two ideas, measured against an ordinary week

Both ideas use all-digital permits, sold online and tied to a license plate, so window stickers would go away. Both would apply Monday through Friday, 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. They split the curb differently.

Idea 1, paired blocks. One side of each street has paid parking. The other side has a two-hour limit, and residents with a permit are exempt from it. The city argues the resident side stays protected because the paid side gives commuters somewhere to go.

Idea 2, residential and commuter permits. Both sides have a two-hour limit unless you have a permit. BART riders and local employees could buy commuter permits assigned to specific blocks, with sales capped by how much space is available. Hourly paid parking would exist only right next to BART, and residents would manage guest permits for longer visits.

Here's how those two designs handle the trips a household near the Plaza actually makes:

The city's own summary lays out the tradeoffs. Idea 1 keeps space open for residents closest to the station and is simpler for occasional BART riders and visitors, but it puts different rules on opposite sides of the same street. Idea 2 lets residents park on both sides and keeps paid parking away from residential blocks, but residents have to handle guest permits themselves. The plumber who needs a full afternoon and the in-law who comes by on Tuesdays are where the two ideas differ most.

Saturday errands fall outside both proposals

Because enforcement would stop at the weekend, the busiest non-commute trips to the Plaza would mostly carry on as they do now. The El Cerrito Farmers Market at El Cerrito Plaza runs Tuesdays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., according to the El Cerrito Chamber of Commerce. The Saturday market falls entirely outside the proposed hours. The Tuesday market falls inside them, so under either idea a visit to the market on a nearby street would come under the free two-hour limit.

Commuters are the group whose routine changes most. Today, the city's parking site describes a station lot that will shrink and about 3,000 curb spaces that will have to absorb the overflow. Whichever idea moves forward, an all-day weekday stay on the curb near the station is the one thing both proposals would require you to pay or apply for.

The proposals also don't cover every street at once. The city's map marks a current focus area and a wider ring where changes could come "in future years, only if needed." The parkEC site has the map, and it's the quickest way to see whether your block is in the first round.

The decision comes in 2027

The first round of public input wrapped up this fall. The city held an online town hall on August 27, set up a pop-up on September 19 in front of Lucky at 1000 El Cerrito Plaza, and closed its survey on October 3. According to the City Manager's August update, that feedback will shape a draft plan. The next steps on the parkEC timeline:

1. Winter 2027: a draft action plan, presented at a City Council study session and a public open house.
2. Spring 2027: City Council considers approving the final action plan.

Until the Council votes, the two ideas are just proposals. The final plan could mix parts of each or change the boundaries on the map. The recording and slides from the August 27 meeting are posted on the parkEC site, and the city takes questions at [email protected]. The winter open house is the next chance to weigh in.

If your home is within a short walk of El Cerrito Plaza BART and you'd like to talk through how curb rules, guest parking and the construction next door could affect your plans for the property, we're glad to help. We follow these changes block by block, and the DiMaggio Betta Group is always happy to share what we're seeing. Get in Touch.