-By Bay City News Service
As the Cal football team prepares to play its first-ever Friday night home game today, city of Berkeley and University of California at Berkeley officials are warning people to be aware of potential traffic problems in the area.
City and university officials say that although Saturday games also affect parking and traffic, Cal's nationally-televised 6 p.m. game with Washington today will coincide with the evening commute, impacting businesses, employees, residents and visitors.
City Manager Christine Daniel said in a statement, "Whether you are coming to watch the game, coming home to Berkeley, or if you work in
Berkeley, we encourage folks to use public transportation as much as possible.
Daniel said people who are going to the game should take one of the free shuttles to Memorial Stadium from several parking lots outside of downtown.
There will be parking enforcement in all neighborhoods near the UC
Berkeley campus in order to keep streets clear and protect resident parking.
Street parking in the immediate vicinity of the stadium is significantly restricted and the fine for street parking violations is being doubled, beginning at $72.
To increase the effectiveness of the shuttles, some street parking near campus will also be restricted. Many city parking garages will be open with special event flat-rate pricing.
Traffic control will begin at 3 p.m. and will be a joint effort of the Berkeley Police Department and the University of California Police Department.
Message boards that say "Cal Football Game - Parking Fines Doubled" will be placed at four major gateways of the city to warn motorists of the road closures and parking restrictions.
Streets that will either be closed to traffic or where traffic will be severely limited include:
Eastbound traffic on Durant Avenue at College Avenue will be closed.
Northbound traffic on Piedmont Avenue at Channing Way will be limited to shuttle buses, emergency vehicles, and drop offs for disabled game-goers.
The northbound and southbound lanes of Gayley Road and Piedmont Avenue will be closed except for fire and emergency access two hours before kickoff and throughout the game.
Canyon Road and Panoramic Way will be restricted to resident and emergency access before and during the game.
Stadium Rimway will be closed to vehicles.
Centennial Drive will be closed to through traffic at Stadium Rimway for three hours before the game.
