The Berkeley Pier has been fenced off since 2015. The city's plan to rebuild it and bring ferry service back to the Berkeley waterfront has now cleared an important procedural step. Gov. Gavin Newsom's office announced in September that the Berkeley Water Transportation Pier-Ferry Project had been selected for "judicial streamlining" under Senate Bill 149. That process aims to resolve CEQA challenges in about 270 days. According to The Berkeley Scanner, such challenges otherwise take three to five years.

City staff told the Scanner that Berkeley's would be the first new electric ferry terminal on San Francisco Bay, while other terminals are being retrofitted. The city said it is only the second transportation project to get the status since SB 149 passed in 2023. "This removes a lot of uncertainty from the project," said Liza McNulty, who oversees the project for the city.

What would be built

The Scanner's summary of city materials lists these pieces:

  • A new public pier and ferry landing dock with electric vessel charging.
  • A new plaza and new Bay Trail segments.
  • Rebuilt sections of University Avenue and Seawall Drive, with a Class IV cycle track, sidewalks and crossings.
  • A rebuilt parking lot.
  • Picnic areas, restrooms, benches and drinking fountains.

The governor's office said that at full buildout the project is expected to remove about 19,000 vehicle miles a day from Bay Area roads. It described the ferry as connecting Berkeley, San Francisco and Larkspur.

Money and timeline

The full project is now estimated at $106 million. Berkeley hopes to pay for most of it with transportation grants rather than city money, and the City Council recently authorized staff to apply for a $25 million grant for parts of the landside work. If the city secures all the funding and no lawsuit is filed, construction could start by 2028. The work is expected to take two full summers and to be done in phases as money arrives.

The city's project page says the Draft Environmental Impact Report came out on Feb. 27, 2026, and its public review period closed April 28. A draft parking management plan is also out for comment. The Scanner reports that council votes on the final EIR and the use permit are expected this winter.

A pier with a ferry past

The pier itself was built for ferries in the first place. The Golden Gate Ferry Company built it from the foot of University Avenue in 1926. It stretched about 3.5 miles into the bay to reach deeper water. Auto ferries to San Francisco's Hyde Street Pier began on June 16, 1927, and the line served as part of the Lincoln Highway. Service ended on Oct. 16, 1937, 11 months after the Bay Bridge opened to cars. After that, the part of the pier nearest shore became a popular fishing spot until it was closed for safety in 2015.