New BART entrance in Berkeley comes with caution tape

Less than two months after completing a $13 million makeover of its Downtown Berkeley Station entrance, BART closed its new, one-of-a-kind glass stairway after an elderly patron took a tumble on what was thought to be a slippery step following a rainstorm.

The $235,000, glass-and-steel staircase was designed to bring more light to the station’s underground concourse and was part of a rebuild to make the Shattuck Avenue entrance more attractive and accessible.

BART spokesman Jim Allison said the steps were taped off for the past 2½ weeks, “out of an abundance of caution,” while the stairs and the entryway’s new glass canopy were inspected.

How the water got on the stairs has yet to be determined. One suspected source is the canopy.

“We did a series of tests before the opening and found some leaks,” Allison said.

The tests basically involved crews showering the canopy with water from hoses to simulate a rainstorm.

“The leaks were fixed,” Allison said. “Then we had a series of rainstorms that produced a few more leaks, and we fixed those.”

Whether there was another leak remains to be seen. The canopy, however, is open to the new plaza, which could have brought in the rain as well.

Whatever the case, on Nov. 23 a patron walking down the stairs following a rainstorm took a spill, despite dimples in the glass intended to prevent slips.

The person didn’t require hospitalization and was treated at the scene by medical personnel, then driven home by BART police.

Allison said an outside expert was being brought in to look at the stairway “to make sure everything is safe and up to code.”

Tuesday, that firm inspected the stairs and concluded they exceeded safety requirements under code, and the stairs were reopened.

“I can’t guarantee no one will slip, but I can guarantee the stairs are safe,” Allison said.

BART recently installed a similar canopy at its San Francisco Powell Street Station, on the north side of Market Street.

“It has not experienced any leaks in the recent rains,” Allison said.

According to the BART press release announcing the Oct. 18 reopening of its Berkeley entrance, the new granite-covered plaza “is designed to improve both safety and walkability” with “a stunning new glass entrance, a state-of-the-art sound and light system for live performances and artist soundscapes, and a dramatic large piece of public art.”

And briefly, anyway, a bit of yellow tape.

Tower talk: A towering 54-story apartment building has been proposed along Emeryville’s shoreline — and it won’t even need a zoning change.

There is no height limit in the area, and since the tower falls within the city’s “transit hub overlay area” — i.e., it’s less than a half mile from an Amtrak station — the developer has to provide only half the normal parking, Emeryville community development director Charles Bryant said. That means as few as 256 spaces for a building expected to house more than 1,000 residents.

“Yeah, there may be gridlock, but hopefully it will get people out of their cars,” Bryant said. “We encourage various modes of transit, like biking and walking.”

Planning officials say the property’s owners have been looking to develop the nearly 4-acre site for years. But various proposals for shorter, if not smaller, projects kept falling apart because of a Wells Fargo Bank branch that leases ground-floor space in an eight-story building on the site.

“They refuse to leave,” said Bryant. “And as long as they’re there, the building couldn’t be torn down.”

As a result, the Vancouver, British Columbia, developer Onni Group decided to build despite the bank.

To maximize the land, the developer has proposed going straight up — to a height of 683 feet. That would make it one of the tallest all-residential buildings in the western United States, and nearly twice as tall as the neighboring 30-story Pacific Park Plaza condominium building towering over Interstate 80.

First, however, the massive project must clear a yearlong environmental review and get the approval of the Emeryville Planning Commission, whose members are likely to get an earful from the public. None of those members responded to our calls for comment on deadline.

However, one reader of the local E’ville Eye news site has already dubbed the tower a “monstrosity” that will lead to more traffic and crime.

San Francisco Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross appear Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. Matier can be seen on the KPIX TV morning and evening news. He can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call (415) 777-8815, or email matierandross@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @matierandross