How long does it take to commute from Walnut Creek, CA to downtown San Francisco?

Question

We plan to relocate to the San Francisco Bay area and I've seen some nice houses in Walnut Creek, but my husband wants a short (half hour to 40 minutes if possible), smooth commute. What is this one like? Advice?

Answer 1

I'm not clear on how anyone can say it'd take "about" 40 minutes to go from WC to SF by BART. If you fold in the time to go to a BART station and park (if you can find parking), go through the turnstyles, wait for the next train to come, and then ride BART, it will take AT LEAST an hour to get to a location downtown in the City.

Not much different by car. But there is considerably more uncertainty by car than by BART. The Caldecut Tunnel, which you must drive through from Walnut Creek, can, and frequently does, become a parking lot. One stall in one of the two bores will bring traffic to a stop. An accident there...you might as well write off your morning.

To a point...there is no such thing as a "smooth commute" in the San Francisco Bay area. Even the off commute hours are fraught with traffic jams when CalTrans decides to do lane closing work, a major accident blocks the freeways, tunnels, or bridges, or a special event (like a Giants or A's game) lets out.

Like your husband, my criterion for a reasonable commute was 30 minutes or less. Living in the East Bay Hills of Oakland, I came close twice: commuting to San Ramon, which is south of Walnut Creek, and to San Rafael, which is across the SR Bridge in Marin County.

Taking BART, I always allowed an hour to ensure I got to San Francisco in time to make night school classes I taught in the City. If everything went right, I'd walk into the classroom about five minutes before start time. But a couple times a term, things did not go right, and I'd be 15-20 minutes late (my class had standing orders to wait one hour before leaving if I didn't show up).

You asked for advice. First, Walnut Creek is a wonderful place to live. My mum in law lived there for years; she was very happy there. WC also has the Broadway Terrace shopping area, which is the best up-scale shopping in the East Bay.

Second, share with your husband that the 30-40 minute commute criterion is unrealistic from WC. He will be cutting it close if he allows a full hour by BART or car to make the daily commute into the City and actually get to work on time.

Third, take a long hard look at your housing priorities. WC is fairly expensive when it comes to housing. You can find excellent homes in the East Bay Hills of Oakland for about the same cost. But in the hills, you can find a view of the Bay and the City, and not need to contend with the Caldecut Tunnel traffic. (However, if good schools are an issue, stick with WC.)

Answer 2

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RE:
How long does it take to commute from Walnut Creek, CA to downtown San Francisco?
We plan to relocate to the San Francisco Bay area and I've seen some nice houses in Walnut Creek, but my husband wants a short (half hour to 40 minutes if possible), smooth commute. What is this one like? Advice?

Answer 3

Walnut Creek can be reached by BART. This will take you less than an hour! If you will travel by car, then it will probably more than 40 minutes depending on the traffic.
Try also looking for houses in Daly City. It would be the nearest place to San Francisco! Rental there is a bit lower and parking better than in San Francisco. Those from San Francisco would prefer shopping over these areas especially this coming Christmas season than shopping in downtown San Francisco where it is hard to park & where 30 minutes would parking would cost you around $ 2.00. Or you can probably go the other way of the Golden Gate Bridge to Sonoma! Rental there is much lower! It is where the wine counties are.

Answer 4

With the exception of the summer heat (which can be formidable), Walnut Creek is the perfect bedroom community for San Francisco commuters. It is very safe, the houses are nice, there's the Sun Valley shopping mall nearby, and transit is abundant...

BART takes 37 minutes to get from Walnut Creek to Montgomery Street station in San Francisco's Financial District. Trains depart every 10 (Peak) to 20 (Weekends) minutes. There is no train service from 1 AM to 4 AM, but there are a couple of night buses during those hours. Most of the time, it is a very smooth ride and the trains usually run on schedule.

Answer 5

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San Francisco, CA to Walnut Creek, CA estimated miles 25-30 miles, estimated travel time 30 minutes if there is no traffic. I like to drive a lot. San Francisco has very limited parking place in downtown. You pay the parking in San Francisco. If you have a house here, some districts have parking permits that you have to pay every here (if you parked it outside the house). If you are in a hurry, good luck finding the parking space. Cops are on foot always to give the parking ticket. The sales tax in San Francisco is 8.50%. On peak times, travel times in the Bay Bridge is 30 minutes, to reach Walnut Creek at least an estimate of 90 minutes. You have to pay $3.00 at the toll plaza when driving back to San Francisco. My Advice to you, if you like driving, 60-90 minutes of driving time is like a long drive, that will be OK. If you don't like driving that long, find a home in which you are not going to cross a bridge. People learn to live with it. Some people cross the bridge just to work on the other side of the city. I heard people coming from Tracy, Stockton, Patterson, Merced, Modesto, Santa Cruz, Hayward, Fremont, Newark, Oakland, just to cross the bridge and they learn to live with it. The most important thing of commute time is the mode of transportation. I drive a 2006 Toyota Corolla and fuel economy is within my budget. I also drive a 1997 Honda Civic which is also within my budget. There are eight (8) bridges in the Bay Area, 7 are state owned, 1 is not. Golden Gate Bridge is owned by San Francisco (Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District). It is up to you, but don't relocate to San Francisco, please. People leave San Francisco because of the parking spaces is crowded, no place to park, you will have more dents and scratches on your vehicle, you pay for parking (no choice even though there is BART), and there is a time limit for parking. When you're tired from work, you will have a high blood pressure because you cannot find a place to park.

Answer 6

Walnut Creek Bart

Answer 7

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Answer 8

You may be able to take BART into the city. However if you want to drive, walnut creek is not that far away, however traffic is notorious in that area for going super slow bumper to bumber traffic. It may take about 40 minutes to just get from Walnut Creek into SF, let alone make it to work in that amount of time. If I were you I'd look into the other direction where you dont have to cross the bridge, like burlingame...etc.

Answer 9

I always use the BART, driving can take a while, especially in the rush hours.
Walnut Creek is a great place to visit and I would love to live there.
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Answer 10

On BART - 40 minutes would be about right. If you try and drive, and it's peak traffic, plan on an hour and a half. You'll get bottlenecked at the tunnel, then again at the toll plaza.

Don't even want to TALK about parking in the city ...

Email me if you want details ... I am from the Bay Area originally.