Under the Overpass ~ Oakland

Under Hgwy 24 and BART

 

The Claremont & Hudson Carpool is located directly under the steely screeching of the  BART overpass and the constant rumble of  Hgwy24. Great protection for a hot or rainy day. But forget about  talking when the trains roll overhead and  join the din of freeway cars in a perfect ‘urban echo’ that caroms off the concrete.

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Lafayette Casual Carpool

Lafayette BART - Casual Carpool

A current of pedestrians on their way to the Lafayette BART station stream through the packed parking lots as we arrive at 7:30AM. But, along Deer Hill Rd between Happy Valley Rd and Oak Hill Rd, it’s stop and go (much like the sign) for a slow trickle of cars and would-be passengers that arrive sporadically until  9:00AM. We hand out just 126 flyers to folks heading for the convenient 24 West on-ramp to The City.  One rider, Robert asks, ‘What’s in it for me?’ as I hand him a flyer. ‘A fascinating read’, I reply.  And it seems, a memory, as he relates that he met his wife in the Casual Carpool!  Another rider, Gail  asks about ‘urban legends’.  Well, there is one about a guy who bypassed  Fremont and Howard on his way to SFO, but no one seems to know the ending to that story…do you?

Crosses of Lafayette

Crosses of Lafayette

We stand in the muggy, partially overcast morning air at the Casual Carpool lane: our backs to the Lafayette BART parking lot – full of steel; we face the bucolic hillside where the wooden ‘Crosses of Lafayette’ have taken root.  No matter our feelings or opinions about the hill – and the war – it is  striking to be held in the dichotomy of this place,  realizing that we are all Casual Commuters in this life.  The sky darkened and briefly, gently rained as I took this photo…

North Berkeley BART

N. Berkeley BART Casual Carpool Stop

At the intersection of Sacramento and Francisco, there is a curious  twist on the usual method of  matching up cars and people: cars headed for the Financial District stop at the North side of the newspaper stands. Cars headed for Civic Center pull past the newstands to the South side, and if there is a line, back up to the newstands.  Passengers load up from the middle at a quick, rhythmic  pace, prompted in part by the arrival of passengers from BART.  One fellow held up a brightly colored sign to start a line of his own – guess  he got where he was going.  From 7:30AM to 9:40AM, we handed out 500 flyers!