BART Market Street Canopies

With more than 125 million riders each year, it’s crucial for the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) line in San Francisco to keep the city moving without a hitch. Where even the smallest hiccup can mean chaos, incessant escalator breakdowns were resulting in major inconveniences and distress for commuters – particularly those with mobility challenges.

Caused by exposure to inclement elements, these escalator breakdowns became the driving motivator for the design of street-level canopies that would protect people and escalators from the rain.

Fast + Epp was engaged for the preliminary design of new canopies at the entrance to existing stations on Market Street. Our primary design considerations included ease of construction and installation along a busy urban street, as well as repeatability for use at multiple station entrances.

Besides rain protection, the canopies will feature a digital display to show train arrival times, a new security grille (which will lock at the street level at night), security cameras, and new lighting. Our preliminary design work is part of a larger initiative to install canopies at San Francisco’s downtown stations from Embarcadero through to Civic Center.