Balboa Park Station

Infobox Station
name=Balboa Park
type=Rapid transit
logo=
logo_size=

---

image_size=225
image_caption=View of station concourse
address=401 Geneva Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94112
line=BART
Rail color box|system=BART|line=Yellow

Muni Metro
other=
9X Bayshore Express
9AX Bayshore "A" Express
9BX Bayshore "B" Express
26 Valencia
29 Sunset
36 Teresita
43 Masonic
49 Van Ness-Mission
54 Felton
88 BART Shuttle
platform=1 island platform
parking=
bicycle=12 lockers
passengers=13,302 exits/day (BART) [ [http://www.bart.gov/docs/station_exits_FY.pdf Yearly Exits] , BART Station Profiles]
pass_year=FY 2007
pass_percent=8.58
opened=November 3, 1973
rebuilt=
ADA=Yes
code=
owned=
zone=

Balboa Park Station is a Bay Area Rapid Transit station located south of Balboa Park in southern San Francisco, California. It consists of two main tracks and a single island platform. Interstate 280 runs along the west side of the station, and City College of San Francisco is to the north.

Balboa Park is currently the busiest BART station outside downtown San Francisco, [cite web| url=http://www.bart.gov/docs/station_exits_FY.pdf| title=Fiscal Year Weekday Average Exits| format=PDF| date=2006-07-19| author=Herhold, Pamela, Bay Area Rapid Transit| ] with eight San Francisco Muni bus lines and three Muni Metro lines connecting in the vicinity. In addition, the station is popular with passengers who kiss and ride, due to the its close proximity to Interstate 280, a major commuter route into San Francisco. The station is the southernmost in the BART system that passengers can access using an SF Muni FastPass (which is valid for travel only within San Francisco); the next southbound stop, Daly City Station, is just outside San Francisco, across the San Mateo County border in suburban Daly City.

Balboa Park Station serves as an official transfer station in the BART system. Although all four BART lines that pass through the station currently continue southward to Daly City, the Balboa Park Station design offers passengers easy (often time-coordinated) cross-platform transfers between trains. The station also serves as a major intermodal hub by its multiple local transit connections.

Service at this station began on November 3, 1973. [cite web| url=http://www.bart.gov/docs/BARThistory.pdf| title=BART Chronolgy| author=Bay Area Rapid Transit| date=2005-06-30| format=PDF| ]

Architecture

Unlike most other BART stations, which are either completely underground with artificial lighting, or elevated and open to natural daylight, Balboa Park Station has a trench-like design of uncovered, below-grade boarding platforms with a centrally located, at-grade entrance area covering its midsection, such that a significant amount of sunlight can penetrate the uncovered platform areas at each end of the station. The midsection at-grade level spans the platform area using a series of open arches, and most of the interior walls are finished with rough-textured concrete.

The original architects of the station were Corlett & Spackman and Ernest Born. ["Two BART Stations". "Architectural Record", November 1974] Born also designed the decorative station graphics.

References

ee also

*List of Bay Area Rapid Transit stations

External links

* [http://www.bart.gov/stations/stationguide/stationoverview_balpk.asp BART - Balboa Park Station Overview]