Metro-North unveils bike rack ideas

By Martin B. Cassidy

Staff Writer

Stamford Advocate January 07, 2009

Posted: 01/07/2009 02:57:31 AM EST

NEW YORK - Cyclists from Connecticut, Westchester County and Long Island got a first look Tuesday at a custom-made bicycle rack system being considered for the new rail cars on Metro-North's New Haven Line.

At Grand Central Terminal, Stewart Desser, a Long Island bicyclist, said new bike racks would encourage commuters to leave their cars at home.

"I think the racks seem to work well and would sort of legitimize the presence of bicycles on trains," Desser said. "Sometimes now we feel like we're in the way and don't belong."

For the next several months, Metro-North Railroad and the Connecticut Department of Transportation will seek written comments from bicyclists, commuters and handicapped passengers before deciding on a final design for the mounted bicycle hooks.

Commuters may submit comments to surveys@mnr.org, said Scott Ornstein, director of schedule planning for Metro-North.

The two M-7 Metro-North cars outfitted with the racks will have a tryout on the Hudson and Harlem lines, Ornstein said.

"We're going to try to get them on some weekend trains to give people an opportunity to see them or use them," he said.

 A prototype of a bike hook shows how the system would be used on a Metro-North Railroad car. The bike would be stored in the wheelchair-accessible seating area. (contributed photo)

Michele Sullivan, a DOT spokeswoman, said the racks must be evaluated soon if they are to be approved and installed on M-8 rail cars now being manufactured in Japan.

"We don't have any firm deadline, but we have to get it done in the next couple of months," Sullivan said.

Last spring, Gov. M. Jodi Rell asked the DOT to consider ways to allow more bicycles aboard the new train cars.

Officials with the Metropolitan Transit Authority are considering installing the racks on M-7 cars on the Hudson and Harlem lines and Long Island Rail Road, said Kenneth Barnisch, assistant director of capital planning for the railroad.

The wall-mounted systems have been placed in the wheelchair-accessible seating areas of the two cars. Handicapped passengers would still have priority over bicyclists.

Bicyclists mount the front wheel on the wall hook and use a bungee cord to attach it to a separate hook in the middle of the wall. The rear wheel of the bicycle is wedged in a tire clamp to keep it still.

Richard Stowe, who rides Metro-North trains and founded Rail*Trains*Ecology*Cycling, a nonprofit advocacy group supporting bikes on trains, praised the racks but said an additional strap securing the rear tire to the wall would reduce the risk of bicycles coming loose.

"I think a Velcro strap is a necessary part of the design," Stowe said.

Members of the Connecticut Rail Commuter Council, a state-appointed body that represents commuters, said they were concerned about the racks' space requirements and whether they would function properly. Drew Todd, a member of the council from Norwalk, said bike racks might displace commuters on already crowded trains.

"My problem is that they are taking the place of four seats or a wheelchair," Todd said.

Terri Cronin, another council member from Norwalk, is concerned that bikes could fall off during sudden stops and jolts.

"Are you sure that it won't move?" Cronin said. "I think that it needs to be more secure. If somebody gets hit or even just gets a little dirty from these, they are going to be mad."

In the past year, Metro-North has taken steps to improve access for bicyclists, including a new policy allowing passengers to bring folding bikes of a certain size without restrictions.

Bicycles now are not allowed on trains during peak hours - before 10 a.m. on trains bound for Grand Central Terminal and from 4 to 8 p.m. aboard trains heading north, officials said.

Ornstein said it was unlikely officials would allow bicycles during rush hour, even after the new cars arrive, because trains are crowded.

"We're thinking about weekend trains and off-peak hours and can't see the policy changing to allow them on all trains," Ornstein said.

- Staff Writer Martin B. Cassidy can be reached at martin.cassidy@scni.com or 964-2264.