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Joint US ATLAS Software and Computing / Physics Support Meeting

20–22 Aug 2014
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
US/Pacific timezone

Local Information (NEW!)

Transporation, Directions, Maps, Parking

Onsite Support Services

Food

Miscellaneous

Airports

Berkeley is served by two airports. Oakland Airport is closer (about 25 minutes without traffic) and less hassle. Oakland Airport (OAK) is a major hub for Southwest Airlines, and serves mostly regional connections (Denver, Seattle, LA, etc.). Oakland airport has fewer air traffic delays due to fog than SFO (see below).

San Francisco Airport , see also SFO Home Page , is the major international airport for the SF Bay Area. It is located about 35 minutes away (without traffic). Be warned that SFO is a mess due to construction. Also note that SFO often has delays (especially mornings) due to fog (in which case they can only operate one of the two main runways.) Almost all overseas or transcontinental flights into the Bay Area arrive at SFO.

Both airports have shuttles to Berkeley - they vary in price, but usually run about $20. Taxi fare from OAK is about $35 plus tip, taxi fare from SFO is about $55 plus tip (more in rush hour).

San Jose Airport is at about 1.25 hours from Berkeley (often much longer during rush hour traffic). We do NOT recommend using San Jose airport unless you have other business in the South Bay. San Jose airport is primarily a regional airport, but also has flights to Austin and Boston.

Airport Shuttles

San Francisco Airport (SFO) Shuttles Telephone number
American Aiporter Shuttle 415-876-0411
Bay Shuttle 415-564-3400
Door-to-Door Airport Express 415-775-5121
Oakland Airport Shuttles Telephone Number
Bayporter Express 1-800-287-6783 or 415-467-1800
Airport Connection 1-800-894-2551 or 510-841-0150

Trains

For persons traveling by Amtrak train (e.g., from San Jose) we generally recommend that you disembark at the Emeryville train station and take a taxi into Berkeley. Although (upon request) some Amtrak trains will stop in Berkeley (at University Ave. and 4th Street), there is no actual train station, so it is rather awkward. There is rumored to be improved train service from San Jose commencing in late January.

 

Directions to LBNL, Maps

 

Mostly Plagiarized from W.E. Johnston.

 

 

Local Transportation

The Radisson Hotel is about 5 kilometers from LBNL. We will run a shuttle bus from the Radisson to LBNL - once in the morning and once back in the evening. A taxicab will be about $15 (?). You can also take an AC Transit 51M bus from the Berkeley Marina to Center and Shattuck and then transfer to the LBNL shuttle bus - see discussion below. AC Transit fares are $1.35 (exact change only).

If you are driving from the Radisson to LBNL take University Avenue East about 4 km to the edge of campus (Fullton Street), north on Fulton 2 blocks to Hearst, and right on Hearst (about 10 blocks) upto LBNL (passing Euclid, and Gayley Roads). See the maps mentioned below.

The Hotel Durant is conveniently near the Berkeley Lab Shuttle Route with a stop only one block north of the hotel at Bowditch and Bancroft (north side of street). See the URL: http://www.lbl.gov/Workplace/Facilities/Support/Busses/off-site.html for information on the off-site shuttle. It runs every 10 minutes from 6:30 AM until 5:50PM, then every 20 minutes to 6:50 PM (northside only). The shuttle takes about 17 minutes to get to LBNL. We will make arrangements for a special bus from the meeting to the Durant Hotel at approximately 5:15 PM each day.

Note: The LBNL shuttles is usually a cream colored boxy bus (with a blue stripe) about 2/3 the size of an AC Transit bus (which are white with green and orange stripes). However, LBNL and UCB campus shuttles sometimes identical vehicles, painted nearly identically. They stop at many of the same stops, but campus buses do not go up the hill to LBNL. Be certain that you carefully check the signs on the buses or ask the driver. LBNL buses should say Berkeley Lab, offsite shuttle. If the LBNL bus driver asks for your lab ID, tell him/her that you are going to a meeting at LBNL.

Upon disembarking at LBNL, (there is only one stop at Bldg. 65) you should take an on-site shuttle to Perserverance Hall/Cafeteria. (Bldg. 54, stop 7) These buses are often identical to the off-site shuttles, so read the sign on the side of the bus very carefully. It will say on-site shuttle on the side. These shuttles run every 10 minutes. They take only a few minutes to get to the cafeteria.

Please see http://www.lbl.gov/Workplace/Transportation.html additional information and directions to the Lab.

 

BART

Person traveling to LBNL from the Bay Area are strongly encouraged to take BART to the downtown Berkeley station, in between Ashby and North Berkeley BART. Take the escalators up to Center and Shattuck Street. The LBNL shuttle stops on the north side of Center Street - i.e., on the NE corner, in front of the Wells Fargo Bank Building.

Driving in Berkeley and LBNL

Persons driving near the UC Berkeley campus should observe that there are numerous pedestrians and bicyclists on the streets. Because California law gives the right of way to pedestrians at intersections and crosswalks, many pedestrians are quite reckless in crossing streets. The maximum speed limit on almost all Berkeley streets is 25 mph (30 km/hr). Virtually every corner in Berkeley has either stop signs or traffic lights. Many side streets have either speed bumps or traffic barriers - not shown on most maps. Finally, most streets south of the UCB campus are one way. Bancroft and Haste are one way westbound, Durant and Dwight Way are one way eastbound. Channing Way is bidirectional. Telegraph Avenue is one way northbound near campus.

LBNL is perched on the side of a steep hill, many of the roads are narrow, and one way. The speed limit is 25 mph (30 km/hr) or less and there ubiquitous stop signs. In addition to bicyclists, pedestrians, and deer, there is often road construction, and considerable movement of heavy equipment via (slow) trucks or fork lifts. Use the Blackberry Canyon entrance (see below) and be sure to ask the guard at the gate for a map.

LBNL is often host to a deer population which lives in the regional park east of the site. Please be careful of deer crossing the roads, particularly at dusk, evening and early morning. We also have raccoons and skunks underfoot. See discussion below (under hazards) concerning mountain lions in the area.

Parking

Special LBNL express shuttles will be provided for round-trip transportation from each of the official conference hotels to the meeting site at the Lab. A schedule will be published on the official meeting web-site shortly.

Parking is extremely limited on the Lab site (we have 3,000 employees and only 1,700 parking spaces).

Note that we will be unable to provide reserved parking spaces for all attendees. A parking permit is merely a hunting license for a parking space. The last parking lot to fill up is usually Blackberry Canyon parking lot. It is about 5 stories of stairs up to Perserverance Hall. If you must drive plan on arriving early.........

LBNL Parking Map

Upon arriving at the main gate (Blackberry Canyon entrance on Cyclotron Road - which commences from the end of Hearst Avenue), you must stop and pick up a parking permit. Ask for a map of the site, with parking indicated. Ask the guard to show you the location of the cafeteria on the map.

Note that LBNL parking permits are merely hunting licenses. Persons arriving after 8:00 AM may not find any vacant parking spaces on site. Beware: illegal parking at LBNL will result in an expensive Berkeley City parking ticket - starting at $20 and going up to $275 (for parking in a disabled space, or blocking fire access). UC police are very enthusiastic about issuing these tickets. All potential parking places which are not explicitly marked as permitted are considered illegal. There are several parking garages in downtown Berkeley near the BART station and near Telegraph Avenue.

Most parking meters in Berkeley are not enforced after 6 PM or on Sundays. In the downtown area Berkeley has recently installed avant garde metallic electronic multi-space meters. Look for them if you do see a parking meter immediately next to the parking space. Note also that the City of Berkeley has some truly bizarre parking regulations, e.g., late night weekend parking restrictions in some areas near campus - so read the signs. Parking violators are energetically fined and towed.

Audio Visual Equipment

We plan to have one high intensity overhead projector and one computer interfaced video projector (for IBM laptops) available. We will also provide flip charts, transparencies, and markers. Note that if we want breakout sessions we will need to arrange additional AV equipment.

Telephones

There are two pay telephones (wheelchair accessible) in the conference facility and one additional pay telelphone in the cafeteria.

Pagers, Cell Phones

Most pagers will work at LBNL - many paging transmitters are located just above LBNL on the hilltops. However, some cell phones, e.g., Sprint, will not work reliably at LBNL.

Photocopying

We have several photocopiers in nearby buildings, but none in the conference building itself.

Handicapped Access

Half of LBNL's bus fleet is wheelchair accessible. Please advise us if you will need this. The conference facility is wheelchair accessible. It has wheelchair accessible restrooms, and telephones, and a wheelchair lift to the parking lot.

We have no plans at present to provide American sign language interpretation for deaf attendees.

Childcare

LBNL does not provide child care for visitors or staff. If you need childcare, we suggest that you contact Bananas, Inc., a popular, respected, non-profit childcare referral agency located in Oakland. It has been in operation for 25 years. LBNL disclaims any and all liability arising from use of Bananas referrals.

Restaurants, Pubs

Berkeley has many good restaurants encompassing virtually all cuisines.

Banking

There is a Wells Fargo Bank automatic teller machine located 25 meters north of the cafeteria/conference center in a small outbuilding. It accepts most common ATM cards and charges $1.50 to non-customers. There are also ATM machines located 2 blocks west of the Hotel Durant at the corner of Durant and Telegraph (NE corner, Bank of America) and at the former Wells Fargo Bank Building on Bancroft Avenue, 1/2 block west of Telegraph (south side of the street, 2.5 blocks west of Hotel Durant, 1 block north). Downtown, near the BART station, there are a number of ATMs at various banks. Currency exchange services are available at the Mechanics Bank located on the corner of Bancroft and Shattuck southeast corner.

Post Offices, etc.

There is U.S. mailbox located next to the ATM machine 25 meters north of the cafeteria/conference center. The main Berkeley Post Office is just a block west of Hotel Shattuck Plaza on Allston Way (i.e., 2 blocks west of Shattuck Ave). There is a branch Post Office located on Durant Ave., approx 25 meters east of Telegraph Ave. on the north side of the street (in an alley).

Religious Services

Although not widely appreciated, Berkeley is home to the Graduate Theological Union (a federation of Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox seminaries). Berkeley is also host to numerous Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Moslem, etc. congregations of most major denominations. For local Christian congregations see: GTU: Locating Parishes and Congregations . There is a Mormon Temple in Oakland. For local Jewish congregations see: East Bay Synagogues or the Berkeley campus Hillel Foundation located near the east end Bancroft Way (at the south edge of campus). For Buddhist services see: Berkeley Buddhist Temple on Channing Way near Shattuck Ave (i.e., Southwest of campus) or The Berkeley Buddhist Piory in Albany (just north of Berkeley) or Berkeley Zen Center . For Bay Area Islamic Centers see: California's Unofficial Directory of Islamic Centers . The nearest Hindu Temple is in Livermore (45 min. drive). See: Shiva-Vishnu Temple, Hindu Community and Cultural Center Contact Frank Olken or John McCarthy if you need further information.

Entertainment

Bookstores

Weather

Crime

Berkeley has the usual criminal activities typical of large American cities. Pickpockets, auto break-ins, and burglaries are commonplace. Occasional armed robberies, assaults, kidnappings, murders, and rapes have occurred in poorly lit or less traveled areas around the campus (such as my apartment house), or in the Berkeley Hills parks. Heavily trafficked areas are fairly safe (e.g., Telegraph Ave.). Exercise reasonable caution when walking around late at night. Do not leave valuables (laptops) about in autos, etc. Note that the immediate vicinty of the Radisson hotel is somewhat safer than the campus area. However, San Pablo and University Ave. (the nearest major street corner to the hotel (across the freeway) is NOT considered very safe after dark.

Drugs

Berkeley has changed its drug enforcement policies and the police now are energetically arresting persons engaged in drug dealing (cocaine, crack, heroin, LSD, and marijuana), e.g., on Telegraph Avenue. Entrapment is commonplace. Drug possession is illegal (a federal crime) at LBNL.

Smoking

With very few exceptions (e.g., designated smoking lounges in airports) it is illegal to smoke tobacco indoors throughout LBNL, UCB, Berkeley, and most of California. Smoking must be done outdoors away from building entrances. Smoking is also illegal throughout most of the the Berkeley Hills (because of very serious fire risks).

Alcohol, Firearms, Hunting, etc.

LBNL does not permit any alcoholic beverages on site, except with specific authorization of the director. Firearms, explosives (conventional or nuclear), and biological warfare agents are also banned onsite. (Hmmm, I am unsure of the status of crossbows or long bows.) Toxic chemicals, radioactive materials or biohazards are not allowed on the LBNL shuttle buses. Cameras, computers, and radios are okay at LBNL (unlike LLNL). All hunting is prohibited both at LBNL and in the adjoining parks. It is also illegal to discharge a firearm in the city of Berkeley.

Hazards

LBNL is a large industrial research laboratory with an abundance of hazards (toxics, radioactive materials, lasers, high voltage equipment, flammable and explosive liquids and gases, liquid nitrogen, etc.). Please observe the hazards signs and flashing warning signals. It is unwise to let children run loose at LBNL. Fortunately, the cafeteria and Perserverance Hall are largely bereft of major hazards (except stairs). It is not unusual for physics, chemistry, or molecular biology labs to be located next to ordinary office space. In the event of an emergency call extension 7977

Rabies is not unusual in the local animal populations. Bubonic plague is also native to California rodents. Berkeley was a a center for the manufacture of plague vaccine during the Vietnam war. Berkeley is also within the U.S. range for Hanta virus - among the wild mice.

Finally, should you decide to go running or hiking in the hills note that there have been repeated reliable sightings of mountain lions in the area. A few mountain lions are known to inhabit the East Bay Hills between the Caldecott Tunnel and San Pablo. (They typically prey on the deer and other animals in the hills.) The most recent mountain lion sighting was Sept. 29, 1999, in the middle of the LBNL site (about 2 blocks from our meeting site). The mountain lions are prone to attack children and small women. It is recommended that hikers/runners in the Berkeley hills travel together in groups and that children not be left unattended. For further information and guidance in dealing with mountain lions see: http://www.lbl.gov/ehs/security/sightings.htm Persons sighting mountain lions should inform security at extension 5472. Note that mountain lions are a protected species under California law. Hunting them is highly illegal.

February is not fire season for California. However, the brush on the hillsides may still be flammable - smoking is banned throughout the of Berkeley Hills parks, etc. (510-486-7911 LBNL Emergency Fire Dept. Phone Number) The paranoia concerning fire is due to the fact that in October of 1991 a Berkeley/Oakland Hills fire destroyed almost 3,500 dwelling units and killed 25 people at an estimated cost of $1.5 Billion. In the event of fire, please exit Perserverance Hall uphill to the parking lots / road.

Earthquakes

The conference site directly overlooks the Hayward Fault . LBNL buildings have been designed/retrofitted to withstand an anticipated Richter 7.0 earthquake fault on the Hayward fault. However, thre is a significant risk of landslides in the vicinity of the fault. See The Hayward Fault at UC Berkeley for a map of the Hayward fault as it passes by LBNL. See also ABAG Anticipated Shaking Intensity Map . (Note that the Berkeley Marina is also an anticipated site of violent shaking). Recent estimates by USGS have put the probability of a major earthquake on the Hayward fault in the vicinity of 32 percent in the next 30 years. (70 percent probability for a major earthquake somewhere in the SF Bay Area). In the event of an earthquake it would be prudent to exit the building to the uphill parking lots.

Medical services

Per DOE regulations, LBNL has onsite medical clinic (510-486-6266 or ext 6266 onsite, Bldg. 26). during working hours for emergencies and onsite injuries We also have an onsite ambulance (Call 510-486-7911 LBNL Emergency Fire Dept. Phone Number). The nearest hospital is Fishing and Hunting

You can fish from the Berkeley pier (I think you need a permit) but you don't really want to eat what you catch in the SF Bay. The fish inside the SF Bay are contaminated with selenium, copper, and mercury. Consumption in excess of one serving per month of fish from SF Bay is considered hazardous. However, fishing caught off the coast (from boats) are edible. See Berkeley Marina Sport Fishing . Hunting is illegal at LBNL, City of Berkeley, and the adjoining regional parks.

Kite Flying

The Berkeley Marina Park is considered a great location for flying kites - lots of wind and no power lines.

Citizenship

LBNL (mostly) doesn't care what your citizenship is! (unless you plan on hacking the operating systems of our supercomputer systems). If you can get a visa to get into the U.S. you can get into LBNL. LBNL is a civilian Department of Energy laboratory operated by the University of California. LBNL really only cares about your parking permit and your health insurance card.

Visas

Visa Waiver Pilot Program

Travelers coming to the U.S. for tourism or business for 90 days or less from qualified countries may be eligible to visit the U.S. without a visa. Currently, 29 countries participate in the Visa Waiver Pilot Program: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Uruguay. Visitors entering on the Visa Waiver Pilot Program cannot work or study while in the U.S. and cannot stay longer than 90 days or change their status to another category.

For further information on obtaining U.S. tourist or business visas see the U.S. State Department Visitors Visa Web Page .

Visitor's Information

Organizers

Frank Olken
Email: olken@lbl.gov
Phone 510-486-5891
http://pueblo.lbl.gov/~olken
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