Lake Merritt BART is the hangout for the homeless, drunk and just nasty people
BART police need to do a better job of keeping the Lake Merritt Bart station clear and safer for those of us who frequent this particular station. I get sick to my stomach whenever I exit ANY of the doors to get to my car. It is disgusting!!! It smells like urine and alcohol and that can't be healthy for BART passengers or anyone who may walk past the BART station. This really has to stop. It is already in my opinion not the safest station but when the time changes it's going to down right scary. Please fix the homeless problem!
There is a soup kitchen one
There is a soup kitchen one block away that opens around 6PM. The transients are usually gathered around the north end of Madison Square park (on the Jackson St. side) and Oakland Police probably rousted them out of their roost. So the transients start hanging around 8th & Oak St. near the parking lot/bus stop/planters. BART HQ has been abandoned/fenced off so the landscape near the main entrance has been unattended - lots of homeless sleep in the area. It doesn't help that the liquour store is across the street. Many of the transients camped on the other side of the freeway, but with the expensive lofts and secured doors and parking lots, there isn't really any place to hide except around the BART Station. BTW - the street level entrances are public toilets for the homeless.
Ironically, the BART Police and the people operating the control center are the only occupants at HQ. Instead of calling the police communication office, I suggest calling police staff listed in the bart.gov website.
Lake Merritt is also a
Lake Merritt is also a hangout for the old Chinese people doing Tai Chi.
During the day the station
During the day the station isn't bad with Laney students and MTC staff coming and going. Like other stations, after dark it gets pretty sketchy. The planters next to the entrances make it too convienent to sit and loiter. Everything street level needs to be updated: better sidewalks, lighting, new entrances. I usually wait in the below-ground plaza (right off the station lobby) until my ride shows up.
The Tai Chi activity
The Tai Chi activity attracts all ages. RN's coming off of the night shift spend an hour going through the movements, a bike messenger clearing his mind for another day in SF's crazy streets and of course many seniors whose BP, flexibility, and mental health are better than most of us. Seen some sword practice over the years, but the most facinating was the use of fans in martial arts. Amazing the seniors can flick those fans open and close in unison thus creating that rapppping noise. Me, I'm waiting for the bus.