At Cypress Self Storage, we are truly thrilled to be in Oakley, California. Our community is growing so quickly, and we are honored to offer the newest self storage facility in town, helping individuals, families, and businesses throughout their lives with their self storage needs. One of our favorite things about being in such a rapidly growing community is the expansion of, well, everything! Today's blog post is all about the new BART station that just opened in Antioch. If you are a commuter who lives in Oakley (or throughout the Delta area), this new BART station is sure to be a game-changer for you. We hope you like it as much as us, and please feel free to share your BART story with us!

The new, highly-anticipated BART extension to Antioch finally opened at the end of May. Delta area commuters have been waiting with bated breath for the opening of the station. Prior to the opening of this station, heading out west to Oakland or San Francisco meant driving in a time and gas-sucking commute across the Bay Bridge, or at the very least, driving to the Pittsburg-Bay Point station, which could still take 30-45 minutes in rush hour traffic.

Now that the station is open and operating, here are some insights:

• The station is very easy to get to and accessible from Highway 4. But don't follow Google Maps directions. Just make the right into the station off Hillcrest Avenue.
• There are only slightly over 1,000 parking spots at the new Antioch station, and as I suspected, it is very popular among Delta area commuters, especially in the early morning. The open parking spaces fill up very early, by 6:30 a.m., although you may be lucky enough to find one or two open spots after 8 a.m. People are trying to get "creative" with their parking, parking in dirt or grass lots in surrounding areas that are not official parking areas, but authorities may be cracking down on those soon. As of the beginning of June, more official options for parking are being investigated.
• As with other BART stations, there are designated spots that are specifically available after 10 a.m., which unfortunately don't help employees who work standard work hours.
• The monthly prepaid reserved parking spots are already being wait listed, and the daily spots are unavailable for reservation.
• To combat this, you can utilize the Scoop carpool program. However, I've heard that the Scoop stream can take time to match people.
• The other option would be to take Tri-Delta Transit. It takes a bit longer, but a round trip to BART is only slightly more expensive than parking at the station. And there is plenty of parking!
• Parking at the station (if you can find it) is $3 a day before 3 p.m. on weekdays. After 3 p.m. and on weekends, parking is free.
• Once you get to the station, you'll notice that only ticket option is getting a Clipper card. While there is a $3 additional initial fee to get a card, take it. In the long run, they're cheaper than regular tickets, especially if you plan to ride BART again, or use other Bay Area mass transit, whether it's your trip to the station on Tri-Delta Transit, or your subsequent bus trip to your final destination.
• Once you get on the train, you'll notice they look very different from the standard BART trains. The new diesel trains are clean cars, with large luxurious seats, electronic maps and signage. Enjoy it, even though it only goes 11 miles.
• The train stops at new Pittsburg Center station off Railroad Avenue (157 Bliss Avenue, to be exact, and you might even have better luck parking there!) and then the Pittsburg Bay Point station, where you transfer to the older-style train that will take you the rest of your journey west. There may be a wait of a minute or two for the transfer. On the way back east, it can be confusing as the train will still stop at the old Pittsburg Bay Point station off Bailey Road, but the transfer station to the new station is a bit down the track.
• As far as the new stations easing up on traffic, so far, I haven't noticed a notable difference. But as far as I'm concerned, it's a step in the right direction.

Thanks for stopping by and reading our blog! Cypress Self Storage is currently under construction and will be opening soon. If you'd like to learn more, join our interest list, or just say "hi", please do not hesitate ot reach out! We look forward to hearing from you.