Directions to the NRG offices within building 50B:
Van and Sally are in room 2239. Vern and Kevin are in room 2245. Steve and Craig are in room 2231. Enter building 50 through the main glass double doors. There is a sign indicating you are entering the ``Building 50 Complex.'' Turn left at the first intersection (there will be a sign indicating you are on the 1st floor of bldg 50) and go down the corridor. Turn right at the next intersection and go through the door labeled ``4th floor 50B.'' Go down the hallway until you reach the elevator on your left side. Take the elevator down 2 floors. Turn left as you exit the elevator and walk to the end of the hallway. The NRG offices are at the end of the hallway on your right.
Van's driving directions to LBL from Palo Alto:
There are two ways to get up here. The simplest, but slowest, route is to take I280 to 101 to the Bay Bridge then I80 to the University av. exit in Berkeley then up University av. to the campus & LBL. The problem is that you could hit the bridge during rush hour. There's an alternative route that might save you 30-45 minutes during rush hour but it's a lot more intricate. The short description is that you take I280 to 92, 92 across the San Mateo bridge to I880, I880 to the I238 connector then I238 to I580, I580 west to 13 (the Warren freeway), 13 until it ends in Berkeley at Ashby av. (Everything so far has been freeway, the rest is Berkeley city streets; you'll be driving along the base of the hills & across the top of Campus.) Turn right off Ashby onto Claremont. Left on Derby when Claremont ends. Right off Derby onto Waring at the first stop sign then just follow Warring (which, in typical Berkeley fashion changes names first to Piedmont & then to Gayley rd.) until the light at Hearst. Turn right on Hearst & take it up the hill to the Lab's main gate.
The long description is:
The key to commuting is to get across some bridge (*the* bottleneck in the flow system) as early as possible. So, if you take I280 from Palo Alto about 10 miles to the highway 92 exit (the exit will probably also say "Foster City", "San Mateo" and/or "Hayward" -- Hayward is the city on the other side of the San Mateo bridge) then take 92 east across the San Mateo bridge (it's freeway all the way). About a mile after you get off the bridge, be in the right lane & take the exit that says "I880 north" and "Oakland" (92 ends at I880 so the exit is on the right & the last before 92 turns into Jackson st. If you miss the exit & find yourself on Jackson, it's no big deal -- just keep going about 2 miles till it ends at Mission blvd then cross Mission going slightly to the left of straight onto Foothill blvd & take it to I580 -- at the big intersection with Mission where Jackson turns into Foothill I think there's also an I580 sign pointing down Foothill.)
If you make the I880 north exit, take 880 for about 3 miles to the highway 238 exit (this will also say "to I580" and "Stockton") then go east on 238 about 3 miles until it hits I580. 238 turns into I580 east so you want to get off it at the exit that says "Oakland" and "I580 west" (there's a lot of construction around this exit but just stay to the right & it's pretty obvious). Take I580 west (actually north) about 10 miles to the highway 13 exit (this will say "Berkeley" as well as 13). Stay on 13 about 7 miles until it ends. Be in the left lane -- the right lane goes off to join highway 24 & there will be a huge line of cars in it at a dead stop -- they're trying to get through the tunnel to Concord). Where 13 ends there's a stoplight. Go straight. The road will bear to the left & wind through the hills. You'll go past the Claremont hotel (on the right) & through one light. At the second light turn right (this is Claremont) but immediately after you turn Claremont makes a dogleg to the left. Follow Claremont about 4 blocks until it ends (this should be Derby), turn left on Derby and take it about 3 blocks to Warring (you should go through on stoplight and Warring is the first stop sign.) Turn right on Warring. You'll go through one stop sign then about 2 blocks later the road veers slightly left & goes through a light. (The cross street is Dwight - this is where Warring turns into Piedmont.) Go through the light & just stay on Piedmont. After a couple more stop sighs & about 5 blocks you should find yourself driving across the top of campus (the stadium is on your left, the new business school & a lot of construction is on your right). Keep on Piedmont (which has now decided to name itself Galey rd.) until you reach the light at Hearst (once you reach the Campus there will be one or two stop signs but Hearst is the first light.) Turn right on Hearst & follow it up the hill to the Lab's main gate (about a block). If we have made previous arrangements for you, then the guard will give you a parking permit & directions to 46a if you need them.
Most of this route is against the commute direction (the only pieces that go with the commute are 92 across the bridge & I880/ highway 238 stretch until you hit 580) so the traffic should thin out as soon as you hit 580 west (but it will be pretty miserable until then). It might entertain you to know that you're taking a tour of the Bay Area's largest & most active earthquake faults: I280 goes straight up the San Andreas fault, the piece of I880 you travel & 238 are on top of the Calaveras fault & most of the section of I580 and all of highway 13 are built directly over the Hayward fault (the one that also goes under the Berkeley Stadium & the fault most likely to cause the next big earthquake here). When you hit the end of 13, you'll also be driving through the area that was devastated during the big Oakland fire 4 years ago (the hills used to be covered with trees).
Using the LBNL Shuttle from campus or the Durant Hotel:
The LBNL shuttle runs every 10 minutes. From 6:40 AM until 4 PM, it runs completely around campus, stopping at every block; after 4PM it runs directly down the west side of the campus to the BART station and back, and does not go to the east side of campus. The stops are discretely marked by a white square with the "LBL" initials painted on the sidewalk. The white-and-orange shuttle says "LBL" on the front. You should be at one of the LBL shuttle stops and wave to the shuttle driver so that they will see you and stop. The bus lets everyone off at LBNL, across the street from building 50.
To take the shuttle from the Durant hotel, walk down Bowditch one block to campus, cross Bancroft, and find the "LBL" initials painted on the sidewalk. In the off chance that the LBNL shuttle bus driver asks for your lab ID, just say that you are coming to this meeting. Get off at the last stop (where everyone else will get off), cross the street at the crosswalk, walk up several small flights of stairs, and enter the building marked "Entrance - 50A". Take the elevator to the fifth floor, turn left when you get off, and the 50A-5132 conference room will be right there.
Shuttles to Berkeley from the airports:
Most of the shuttle services from the airports to the Durant Hotel recommend that you call ahead and make reservations. At the San Francisco airport, the Bayporter Express shuttle van can take you either to the Durant Hotel or directly to the Lab. It departs the airport approximately every hour. The cost is $16, and $10 for each additional person coming to the Lab. Their phone is 415-467-1800. There are a number of other airport shuttles that operate from both the San Francisco and Oakland airports. The Bay Area Shuttle (415-873-7771) charges $10 to go to the Durant Hotel, but doesn't have door-to-door service and therefore won't take you directly to the lab. The Airport Connection (415-877-0901) goes to the Durant Hotel and also might have door-to-door service. My experience with door-to-door service is that these can be slow, and can wander about the hills dropping off several other people before they get to your stop, so be forewarned. More transit information from the bay area airports is also available.
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