Every station has its own problems. At the Civic Center station, you've heard me complain enough about homeless body wastes, drunkards, addicts, and excessive solicitation...etc. At the Orinda station, if I had to name an issue, I guess it would have to be awful traffic getting out of the station, it takes me 15 minutes just to get out of the station and onto the main road. Very annoying after an already long day of work. I don't travel in or out of other stations enough to comment on the main problems, but I'm sure each has its own.
David Rust, a BART commuter out of the San Leandro station, wrote me an interesting email today. Apparently, the massive pigeon population at the station is the concern there. Initially, I was thinking, how could pigeons be problematic. After reading his email, I am thinking that the traffic problem out of Orinda station is not that big of a deal, although I'd still prefer pigeons over human wastes any day!
Here's his note. Thanks for sharing, David. Hope they solve the problem for you, although from past experience, I doubt BART would do anything about it.
After years of looking the other way, BART has finally started to fix up the San Leandro station with actual paint and do something about the pigeons there. We've all had to listen to fake recorded hawk calls for a couple years, seen the fake owls get more grimy with each passing month, and push past the pigeon poop on the floor AND the esclator. It's better now, but the problem hasn't been solved. A few people, including one very eccentric woman, feed the pigeons every day. The woman gets bread at the local catholic church - free to the homeless - and brings it on over to BART to feed her feathered friends. BART always seems surprised when they hear about this, but can do little to stop it. The woman comes at the same time every day, and the same elderly gentleman brings seed or bread or whatever to feed the 50 or so permanent residents. Can't BART do more enforcement? This is a huge health hazard and the only way to stop it is to cut off the food supply. Signs stating that it is illegal to feed pigeons might not have any effect, but it would be a step in the right direction.
4 comments:
The massiave amount of pigeon crap there is sickening. It's been there since my first Bart ride until now and I'm used to it.
Good to hear they are finally making some efforts to update the statoins. I don't think they can ever fully get rid of those birds. Some avian activitist group or something like that will probably protest.
About your comments about the Civic Center Bart environs... I was using this station way back in 1976 when I was working a consulting job in the area. The conditions were exactly the same then. I don't think it's going to change any time soon.
Yes, we call her "The Pigeon Poop Lady" and when she is onsite I always contact the agent or BART PD, sometimes, not often, with results. She is way beyond my polite friend's description of being eccentric. If you tell her to stop throwing the darn bread around, she will scream at you in an unknown/unrecognizable language. Of course, then you get to track pigeon poop into your home, into Safeway or onto the BART floor where people rest their bags... Yuck!
San Leandro Commuter
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