Emeryville, California layover question

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OldCond

OldCond

Train Attendant
AU Supporting Member
Joined
Sep 29, 2016
Messages
26
Location
Ohio
Hello all, I hope to make a trip to the west coast in the near future which will include taking the Coast Starlight from Los Angeles to Emeryville, spending the night there then head back east on the California Zephyr. Train 14, the Coast Starlight is scheduled to arrive in Emeryville at 9:37 PM and I'll probably be staying at the Hyatt House, Emeryville. I was wondering if that is a safe walk from the station to the hotel at that hour? I'm seventy years old and I'll be traveling alone. The images I've seen show it to be an easy walk, weather permitting, using the pedestrian overpass over the tracks and across the parking lot to the hotel. In daylight I'm sure I'd be fine but being after dark has me concerned, not knowing whether I'll be hassled or not . Thanks for any advice.
 
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There have been reports that homeless people occupy the overpass and elevators. Another issue is that the elevators may be out of order. I don't recall seeing that mentioned, but I have frequently experienced non-working escalators and elevators in this country, so I would hesitate to rely on them. I suggest using an Uber.
 
I was there last month, and my sister and brother in law (they arrived earlier in the day) went to dinner, because we were a few hours late, (CZ) so I was "abandoned" everyone in the station was very helpful (I was overpacked and am waiting for a hip replacement so walking is a chore) The station staff suggested Uber, they wanted 28 dollars which is a joke, you can see the hotel across the tracks. I bore down and hoofed it, but I'm not sure I would do it later at night. You might try Lyft as well, it may have been demand pricing at a busy period. $10 would make more sense.
 
OldCond said:
The images I've seen show it to be an easy walk, weather permitting, using the overpass over the tracks and across the parking lot to the hotel.
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On the Amtrak web site describing the Emeryville station, a click on the directions button gives you the walking route on Google maps. It says 0.2 mile, 6 minutes walk. If a person can do it in 6 mins or less that would be good. Walking too slowly might not be as good. Running would probably work best:)
The concern I have about this itinerary is that the CS could be (hours) late.
I would probably re-work the schedule, as I like to check in before dinnertime, if possible.
 
I've stayed at the Hyatt House before - I never felt unsafe, but you should know what you are getting into if you walk. The entire walking distance will be close to .2 miles so take that into consideration with luggage etc.

There are elevators on either side of the pedestrian overpass, however either elevator could be out of order, or have an intense smell of urine. So be prepared for that.

Once you come down from the overpass, you are on the backside of the parking lot - so you have to walk through the parking lot to the opposite side of the building to enter, since the door closest to you will be locked.

Right now, Uber is showing $7. If you plan on taking an Uber, there are a few other hotel options very close, that might be a little cheaper so that might work out for you as well.
 
I did a little digging about the security situation in Emeryville. It apparently has a high crime rate, but that might just be an artefact of the relatively small population of the town and the fact that it's basically a commercial center that draws lots of people from neighboring towns. According to one site I checked, assaults and robbery were at a rate of about 3.5 per 1,000 residents, which is sort of middling as far a American towns go. There's apparently a lot of shoplifting, which souldn't be of concern to someone just trying to get from the station to a hotel.

There are crime maps, but they don't actually show the locations of each incident. Looking at the google maps air photos, yeah the walk from the station to the Hyatt looks like it would be creepy late at night, but it should be OK during the day. In my experience (I live in Baltimore, murder capital of America, or at least in the running for the title) and I have no problems being out and about in most parts of the city. And if more people would just be out and about, there might be less crime.
 
Steve4031 said:
There have been reports that homeless people occupy the overpass and elevators. Another issue is that the elevators may be out of order. I don't recall seeing that mentioned, but I have frequently experienced non-working escalators and elevators in this country, so I would hesitate to rely on them. I suggest using an Uber.
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That's what I'll probably do. I just wasn't sure if a driver would take such a short trip. I'll make sure to tip him/her well. Thank you!
 
OldCond said:
Thanks everyone. I'll probably use an Uber or Lyft. This is kind of a bucket list trip for me as I've never seen the Pacific Ocean, hence the trip on the Coast Starlight from LA to Emeryville. I worked forty years for the railroad, all in Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.
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I know you already have plans made - but just in case I will mention - San Francisco is an incredible city to visit for railfans. The Cable Cars and the old PCC Trolleys offer a "Living Transportation Museum" that I have not seen duplicated anywhere else in the USA (New Orleans being the closest). There is also the historic Ferry Building with working Solari Board, and both the Cable Car and Street Railway have small museum / gift shops that are free.
 
crescent-zephyr said:
I know you already have plans made - but just in case I will mention - San Francisco is an incredible city to visit for railfans. The Cable Cars and the old PCC Trolleys offer a "Living Transportation Museum" that I have not seen duplicated anywhere else in the USA (New Orleans being the closest). There is also the historic Ferry Building with working Solari Board, and both the Cable Car and Street Railway have small museum / gift shops that are free.
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Also, if you really want to see the Pacific Ocean, you have to go the San Francisco.
 
We arrived at EMY at about 7pm last year and took the pedestrian bridge with elevators with no problems. But if you do decide to hoof it to that hotel across the tracks you may find the only door that's open at night is the main entrance on the far side of the hotel. The door facing the tracks was locked.
 
I have used Uber to go to and from the Hilton Garden Inn Emeryville with no hassles many times. By the time the driver drives over the bridge to get over the tracks, the driver has traveled most of the way to the Hilton Garden Inn. The trip to the Hyatt.
 
I did this in May last year. The CS was late into EMY, and the hotel restaurant was closed. Nothing near by still open at 9-10 PM and I didn't want to go farther, so I had some microwaved food (a burrito, maybe?) from the hotel shop in the lobby (which mostly sells toothbrushes, etc but did have a few snack items.)

The parking lot layout was confusing and a simple sign on the hotel pointing to the main entrance would have saved me about half the walking distance from the station. (I walked about half way around the hotel, figured it was the wrong way, and walked back and almost as far in the other direction before I found an open door. Walking needlessly in circles around the hotel was farther than the platform to the elevator, across the tracks to the other elevator, and across the parking lot to the nearest, locked, door.) Not a good start!

Next morning, there was a decent breakfast buffet (included in the room, IIRC) and navigating in daylight was much easier!

Much later, I realized it might be better to totally forgo Emeryville, which as far as I can tell, has nothing going for it, and continue on the CS north to another station and stay there. It would have meant a later arrival, but also a later departure the next morning, and I could have eaten dinner on the train, which I should have done anyway. Any stop up to Sacramento would have worked, most are used by both the CS and the CZ, but I did not research convenient hotels or restaurants at any of them.
 
MARC Rider said:
I did a little digging about the security situation in Emeryville. It apparently has a high crime rate, but that might just be an artefact of the relatively small population of the town and the fact that it's basically a commercial center that draws lots of people from neighboring towns. According to one site I checked, assaults and robbery were at a rate of about 3.5 per 1,000 residents, which is sort of middling as far a American towns go. There's apparently a lot of shoplifting, which souldn't be of concern to someone just trying to get from the station to a hotel.

There are crime maps, but they don't actually show the locations of each incident. Looking at the google maps air photos, yeah the walk from the station to the Hyatt looks like it would be creepy late at night, but it should be OK during the day. In my experience (I live in Baltimore, murder capital of America, or at least in the running for the title) and I have no problems being out and about in most parts of the city. And if more people would just be out and about, there might be less crime.
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I've spent a lot of time in Emeryville over the years. I saw the rise and the decline of the EmeryBay Public Market and used to watch a lot of movies at the now gone United Artists movie theater (demolished in favor of housing). I remember the train station when it first opened. And I remember when the big things in Emeryville were the mudflats with driftwood sculptures and the Judson Steel plant.

Emeryville is really weird when it comes to crime and how it's distributed. Much of Emeryville is now extremely gentrified with upscale condos and apartments. The biggest employer in Emeryville is Pixar. Then there's a lot of retail. I mean a lot of retail for a place with such a moderate population. I mean a lot of retail - Bay Street, Powell Street Plaza, The Public Market, East BayBridge, Target, etc. Whatever crime there is is generally going to be much higher close to the borders with Oakland and some of the rougher parts of Berkeley. Around the train station there might be homeless, but I wouldn't sy it's terribly high crime around the train station. I've used the train station many times in the past five years or so, and I've never had any safety concerns. Even so I try to be aware of my surroundings.
 
niemi24s said:
We arrived at EMY at about 7pm last year and took the pedestrian bridge with elevators with no problems. But if you do decide to hoof it to that hotel across the tracks you may find the only door that's open at night is the main entrance on the far side of the hotel. The door facing the tracks was locked.
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When I got there last month, the back door was indeed locked, but there was an intercom to call the front desk and they buzzed to open the door. It probably could have had a better placard it is probably easily missed. Of course, once you have your room key there is an access pad for that. Had to go out to the food truck back there for some fresh beignets.
 
John Santos said:
it might be better to totally forgo Emeryville, which as far as I can tell, has nothing going for it, and continue on the CS north to another station and stay there. It would have meant a later arrival, but also a later departure the next morning, and I could have eaten dinner on the train, which I should have done anyway. Any stop up to Sacramento would have worked, most are used by both the CS and the CZ, but I did not research convenient hotels or restaurants at any of them.
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I transferred in Sacramento last time I was out there, but I was southbound on the CS and thus arrived in the morning. I took the light rail out to a Holiday Inn at Rancho Cordova, and light rail back in the morning to catch the CZ. Not sure how late the light rail runs, or how much an Uber would be. There are hotels closer, some okay, I guess, but this was one I could get to on light rail.
I just checked GoogleMaps: It's 16 miles to that Holiday Inn, so 20-25 minutes by car, or close to an hour on the Gold Line.
There are hotels downtown, and a nest of cheaper hotels a couple of miles from the station, north along the river (lower cost Uber).
I used to stay at Jack London Square, but the street situation is a bit scary for my old bones.
 
PVD said:
When I got there last month, the back door was indeed locked, but there was an intercom to call the front desk and they buzzed to open the door. It probably could have had a better placard it is probably easily missed. Of course, once you have your room key there is an access pad for that. Had to go out to the food truck back there for some fresh beignets.
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I got curious about the location as it's the place that Tesla makes available for test drives. However, they have no people there and the key access is completely automated.

And that hotel has been around for maybe 20 years. The first time I'd ever been there was for a business meeting in one of the conference rooms. It was an independent hotel at the time called "Woodfin Suites".
 
Widfara said:
I transferred in Sacramento last time I was out there, but I was southbound on the CS and thus arrived in the morning. I took the light rail out to a Holiday Inn at Rancho Cordova, and light rail back in the morning to catch the CZ. Not sure how late the light rail runs, or how much an Uber would be. There are hotels closer, some okay, I guess, but this was one I could get to on light rail.
I just checked GoogleMaps: It's 16 miles to that Holiday Inn, so 20-25 minutes by car, or close to an hour on the Gold Line.
There are hotels downtown, and a nest of cheaper hotels a couple of miles from the station, north along the river (lower cost Uber).
I used to stay at Jack London Square, but the street situation is a bit scary for my old bones.
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A really nice place to stay is Davis, just West of Sacramento. All the Trains stop in this College Town, which is more reasonably priced than Sacramento or Emeryville.

If you do want to stay in Sacramento, the Vagabond Inn, an old style Motel, is across from the Amtrak Station and is next to the California Rail Museum( one of the Best in the Countey) and Old Sacramemto.
 
If the hotel door facing the tracks has a buzzer to push for entry, then Google Maps tells me the distance to walk is about 250 yards. If the back door buzzer doesn't work, then it's another 160 yards or so around to the front door.
 
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I was there a month ago and walked accross shortly after #14 left. I think some people passed me but they clearly weren't homeless. I didn't see any homeless person at all.
 
PVD said:
I was there last month, and my sister and brother in law (they arrived earlier in the day) went to dinner, because we were a few hours late, (CZ) so I was "abandoned" everyone in the station was very helpful (I was overpacked and am waiting for a hip replacement so walking is a chore) The station staff suggested Uber, they wanted 28 dollars which is a joke, you can see the hotel across the tracks. I bore down and hoofed it, but I'm not sure I would do it later at night. You might try Lyft as well, it may have been demand pricing at a busy period. $10 would make more sense.
Click to expand...
This is when a real taxi is a better option than Uber or Lyft
 

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