Bay Area transit agencies are preparing for large crowds Wednesday as fans head to San Francisco to celebrate the Golden State Valkyries’ historic WNBA championship with a parade at noon.
The Valkyries captured their first WNBA championship after defeating the Atlanta Dream 68-63 in Game 7 of the Finals at Chase Center on Saturday, becoming the first expansion team in the league to win a championship in their second season.
Caltrain, BART and SamTrans are encouraging fans to take public transportation to avoid traffic and parking challenges during the celebration.
Caltrain will run two additional special trains for the parade. The northbound train 901 will leave San Jose Diridon Station at 9:13 a.m., making all regular stops before reaching San Francisco.
After the parade, the southbound train 902 will leave San Francisco Station at 2:40 p.m. and make local stops.
Caltrain will also run two afternoon trains as locals to handle crowds. Train 914 will depart San Francisco at 3:10 p.m., followed by train 916 at 3:40 p.m. Riders traveling south of Tamien Station can connect to those trains through services 814 and 816.
Fans can walk from Caltrain’s San Francisco station to the parade’s end at 2nd and King streets or head along the Embarcadero toward the starting point at the Ferry Building.
BART, meanwhile, will run extra trains, longer trains and add staff and security for the event. Riders can take BART to Embarcadero or Montgomery stations and walk to the parade. Another option is to take BART to Powell Street Station and transfer to Muni’s southbound T Third train at Union Square Station, then get off at 4th and King streets and walk to the parade.
SamTrans also offers several routes connecting the Peninsula to downtown San Francisco. Route 292 serves communities in San Mateo County and connects to the Salesforce Transit Center. The FCX and EPX routes also serve the transit center during peak periods.
Fans can also take Route 292 or Route ECR to Millbrae Station and transfer to Caltrain for service to San Francisco, SamTrans officials said.
The three transit agencies are advising riders to check schedules and real-time updates before leaving.
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