(KRON) -- If you’re a Bay Area commuter who hops on at West Oakland BART, it’s no secret that parking spots at the train station fill up extremely fast. With it already hard enough to find parking, now the transit agency says more than 50% of the available spots at West Oakland BART will now per manently go bye-bye due to upcoming housing construction. For this phase of the construction, approximately 240 out of 440 parking spaces will no longer be available. This will leave 200 spots for first-come, first-served daily parking. The available spaces include 11 ADA spots. BART riders are encouraged to find additional customer parking at most other BART stations with parking, including Fruitvale Station, which is about 5 miles from West Oakland. What’s the reason behind the huge removal of parking spots? According to a press release from the transit agency, “BART’s development partners (Mandela Station Partners, LLC) are initiating construction of 240 affordable housing units at the West Oakland BART Station on September 14, 2026. This work impacts all station access amenities including buses, vehicle and bicycle parking, pick-up/drop-off, and circulation.” BART will not provide additional parking options or alternatives for commuters who normally park at West Oakland, saying, “Commuters should use another BART station or find a way to get dropped off at the station.” Yes, this is a permanent move. “The parking spots are not coming back. Housing is going in. They are being permanently removed, and we have been transparent about this," BART said. So how does BART plan to address concerns from commuters who already find it extremely difficult to park at West Oakland BART? A BART official said, “For several months, through various rounds of communication, we have been advising parkers at West Oakland that this was coming and encouraging those who can’t find another way to get to the station (bus, walk, bike, get dropped off) to start using another BART station with parking. Our data shows that many people who drive and park at West Oakland are passing other BART stations that have parking.” If you’ve looked before for parking at West Oakland and found zero available spaces, despite the app showing availability, there is a reason behind that confusion, says BART. KRON4 also asked BART if the issue is due to people potentially parking without paying. “Our app doesn’t show real-time parking stall availability for Daily Fee at any station because people can also pay for these spots at the add fare machine inside the station- so the app doesn’t know if a certain allotment has been sold. The Daily Fee option doesn’t turn off (unlike Reserved parking, which can only be purchased on the app, so we know how many have been purchased and we can turn it off). We no longer offer reserved spots at West Oakland as of earlier this year, so I am unclear what parking violations you mean. Parking is first come, first served and then it is full.” BART said its police department will still monitor and enforce at the West Oakland station parking lot. Parking fees will not be reduced during this time, as BART said that would violate its demand-based parking policy and “actually make it harder to find parking at the remaining 200 spots.” BART is sharing the below information for commuters:Circulation: Vehicle, pedestrian and bicycle circulation will remain open on the east and north sides of the station site. Access to the south from the entrance will be restricted Pick-up/Drop-off:Regular pick-up/drop-off will be moved to Southbound Chester at 7th St. and Westbound 7th at Center Street.Accessible pick-up/drop-off will continue to be accommodated in the current location in front of the station.Ride App pick-up: Use regular pick-up/drop-off locations.Bicycle Parking:All bike parking from the south (5th Street) side of the station has been relocated to the north (7th Street) side. Bicycle lockers are in two locations: Outside the NE corner of the station (16 spaces) Just inside the BART parking lot west of the main pedestrian entry from 7th Street (64 spaces). Bike racks (32 spaces) are located on the plaza directly outside the station on the east side of the entrance. The shared Lyft Bikes (formerly Bay Wheels) are now located in the BART parking lot near 7th Chester, west of the main pedestrian entry point. Buses: AC Transit buses have been moved to on-street locations on 7th St. and Mandela. Below the table is a description of where each bus stop is located. ...read more read less