Plan To Build More Housing Near BART Stations To Reduce Congestion
CONCORD (KPIX) -- Lawmakers are pushing to build housing developments near BART stations to help reduce congestion and get commuters out of their cars.
Assemblymembers David Chiu and Timothy Grayson announced AB 2923 on Monday, right in front of the Concord BART station.
"We are talking . About using land in a better way -acres are filled with just parking lots and nothing else and we could be building mix
use development including parking in a ground floor or basement garage," Assemblyman David Chiu said.
The idea is to have housing and transportation close together so people can essentially walk to BART. Lawmakers want to add 20,000 housing units on BART land, with 35 percent of it slated as affordable housing for low income residents.
For commuter Surinder Chandi, affordable housing near BART can't come soon enough.
"It's will save gas, travel time and it's less commute," she said. "That way I can spend more time with my family and kids and make me a happy person in my life."
People who need to park at BART may not be so happy because spaces will be eliminated and replaced with housing. Lawmakers defend the move, saying yes, there will be less spaces, but the goal is to reduce the need for cars altogether, since more people will be able to walk to BART.
The bill still has to be voted on and passed before its heads to the Senate.
