I don't think the BART could run past 12 even if they wanted. It's a system that's stretched to its very limits - for example, only a maximum of 3 cars can be out of commission (for repairs, refurbishment, etc) at any one time due to how over-committed their fleet is. The soonest replacements are still years away.
There's also a substantial crime problem to be solved in the East Bay (and SF, to be fair). The West Oakland and downtown Oakland BART stops are in the middle of neighborhoods with very pronounced crime and poverty - similar to Civic Center or the worst areas of the Mission. These places are a fair ways away from becoming places where working professionals want to settle.
Culturally and politically speaking, I do not believe either SF or the East Bay have a realistic chance of effecting a NYC-style crime turnaround, which was based around fundamentally conservative tactics that's very far from the politics of the Bay Area.
Indeed, you're right. Downtown Oakland is much better than West Oakland, and better than Civic Center or the war zone/train wreck known as 16th and Mission. That being said, the crime rate and homeless population is still substantial enough to be a serious hindrance to development.
See downtown Brooklyn, where a similar situation/vibe exists - not the worst neighborhood in NYC by far, but also sketchy enough that the monied working professionals aren't interested. They built anyways, and now that neighborhood is in a weird limbo where the buildings have trouble attracting tenants, but at the same time generating enormous class and racial tension due to their mere presence.
BART reaches farther down the East bay though, all the way down to Fremont. Much lower crime down there, some good school districts. Complete suburbia, though.
There's also a substantial crime problem to be solved in the East Bay (and SF, to be fair). The West Oakland and downtown Oakland BART stops are in the middle of neighborhoods with very pronounced crime and poverty - similar to Civic Center or the worst areas of the Mission. These places are a fair ways away from becoming places where working professionals want to settle.
Culturally and politically speaking, I do not believe either SF or the East Bay have a realistic chance of effecting a NYC-style crime turnaround, which was based around fundamentally conservative tactics that's very far from the politics of the Bay Area.