Walnut Creek station is an elevated Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station in Walnut Creek, California. It is served by the . The station is located north of downtown Walnut Creek, near Interstate 680, Ygnacio Valley Road, and North California Boulevard. The station opened on May 21, 1973, as part of an extension from MacArthur to Concord. It was built as a suburban park-and-ride stop but became a major transfer point and focus of transit-oriented development in central Contra Costa County. Its parking lots have been partly replaced by the Walnut Creek Transit Village, a phased mixed-use development.
Station layout
thumb|left|alt=A transit bus at a bus terminal inside a parking garage|A [[County Connection bus at the station]]
The elevated BART tracks run approximately northeast–southwest through the station area. Two parking garages and a residential building are on the west side of the station; former parking lots planned for development are on the east side.
History
thumb|left|The 2022-installed elevator faregate
The BART Board approved the name "Walnut Creek" in December 1965. Walnut Creek station opened on May 21, 1973 as part of an extension from MacArthur to Concord. The station was designed by Gwathmey, Sellier & Crosby and Joseph Esherick & Associates. It was taken over by the Central Contra Costa Transit Authority (County Connection) on July 1, 1980.
BART released a plan in 2004 that called for changes to the station and surrounding area. To accommodate increased ridership, a new south paid lobby was to be added, with new escalators and stairs to the platforms. The existing paid area would be enlarged with new elevators added, and the platforms would be widened. BART released conceptual modernization plans, which largely followed the recommendations of the 2004 plan, in May 2019.
Thirteen BART stations, including Walnut Creek, did not originally have faregates for passengers using elevators. In 2020, BART started a project to add faregates to elevators at these stations. The new faregate at Walnut Creek was installed in September 2022.
Development
thumb|left|The completed south garage in 2019
Walnut Creek station was originally intended to serve the surrounding low-density suburban neighborhoods.
In 2000, BART began negotiations with a developer that sought to build a transit-oriented apartment complex on the station parking lots. The 2004 station plan proposed development of the parking lots with 440 residential units, of office space, of retail space, and 1,373 parking spaces. The developer first submitted plans to the city in 2005; the project was indefinitely delayed in 2009 due to the Great Recession. The plans were ultimately approved by the city in October 2012, with the parking garage to be the first portion built.
A parking lot on the west side of the station closed on February 3, 2018. The 900-space south parking garage was constructed in its place, which allowed other parking lots to be closed for the new development. The new garage, which includes a three-lane bus plaza, opened on March 29, 2019. The north and east parking lots closed at that time.
Construction of a 358-unit apartment building on the north lot took place from 2019 to 2023; development of the east lots is planned. When complete, the Walnut Creek Transit Village is planned to include the garage and bus terminal, about 596 housing units, of retail space, and a BART police facility.