BART considering name change for Oakland's Lake Merritt station

OAKLAND, Calif. - Lake Merritt's BART Station may not be called that for much longer, as a proposal has been made to change the name to "Oakland Chinatown."

BART's Board of Directors is considering changing the name because of its location in the Chinatown neighborhood.

The board discussed the name change and voted to follow its policy for renaming stations.

Their policy requires an applicant to come forward, hold proper outreach in the community, and pay for the change, which would cost about $750,000.

BART said money for the name change would pay for new signs and updating the fare collection system software.

Chinatown residents and riders shared their support for the name change.

"I would ask that it not be called a name change. It really is a name correction. I've been getting off at that station for 40 years and every time I get off I look around and say 'Where's Lake Merritt?' It displaced a large piece of Chinatown. Chinatown has been there for 150 years," said rider Joshua Simon.

The City of Oakland recently celebrated the Chinatown Transit Oriented Development Affordable Housing Project, and city officials said the name change is one way to begin repairing the past harm brought against the Chinese community in Oakland, according to KQED.

KQED reported that city council president Nikki Fortunato Bas supports the name change and hasn't heard of any pushback so far.

"Part of what we’re going to do with this groundbreaking is start to educate the community about the history of how Chinatown was disrupted and how families were pushed out so that we can let people know why renaming it would be important," Fortunato Bas told KQED.

Fortunato Bas' district includes Chinatown.

KTVU's O. Gloria Okorie contributed to this report.