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National Trend - Making More Space for Bicycles

U. student Alice Owens, left, squeezes onto a TRAX car on 900 East with her bike as she heads to class Monday. "They should make a TRAX car for just bikes - an empty one with no chairs," Owens said. "What's the point of [TRAX]? Isn't it . . . so people don't drive?" (Steve Griffin/The Salt Lake Tribune )


UTA has lots of lockers; plenty more on the way - UTA will yank a bench seat at end of each light-rail car


Kyle Lukacs, a student at the University of Utah, squeezes onto the TRAX car at the 900 East stop with his bike as he heads to class Monday. Lukacs said he has noticed an increase in riders with bikes this year, and that he often has a hard time finding room on the train. (Steve Griffin/The Salt Lake Tribune )

By Brandon Loomis
The Salt Lake Tribune

TRAX rail cars are crammed with bicycles by the time they get downtown in Salt Lake City on weekday mornings - four and five at each end, where signs warn against exceeding two.
"It sucks," University of Utah student Marlon Ruiz said after trying but failing to squeeze his bike onto the train at 900 East and 400 South on Monday morning. He had scurried from one door to the next but found both too packed. "This isn't the first time."
Then he wheeled away on his bicycle to mount a charge up the steep hill to school, knowing he would be late for class.
In this year of punishing gasoline prices and record mass transit ridership, there's a crush of bicycles on public transportation. The Utah Transit Authority will respond by removing one bench seat at the end of each light-rail car to make room so bikes aren't impeding the doorway, spokesman Brandon Bott said. It's also adding bike lockers for rent at TRAX and FrontRunner commuter rail stations.
There's no relief for those who try to put bikes on a bus but find two already filling the front rack, because UTA has found that a triple rack obscures the headlights.
The trend spans the continent, according to American Public Transportation Association spokeswoman Virginia Miller. Among those she has surveyed are Tampa, Fla., whose buses have seen one-fifth more bikes this year, and Cleveland, where riders with bikes are up 23 percent.
UTA's FrontRunner, which opened last spring, is a hit with cyclists who don't want to drive to and from the park-and-ride lots north of Salt Lake City. UTA counted 452 average weekday bike boardings on the diesel trains in August. The agency has made room for bikes near the doors in cars it has recycled from New Jersey, and soon will take out seats on newer cars, at the end cars of each train, Bott said.
The numbers are booming on TRAX, too, though UTA can't say by how much because the electronic counters at the train doors don't distinguish a cyclist from other riders. At around 9:30 Monday morning the Ninth East TRAX station was a hub of bike activity, with bikers boarding and leaving trains, and lining up for the buses across the street.
Riders with bikes responded enthusiastically when told of the plan to remove seats. Some wanted more.
"I think they should make a TRAX car for just bikes - an empty one with no chairs," U. student Alice Owens said before hauling her bike aboard on Monday. "What's the point of having TRAX if people can't use it? Isn't it supposed to be so people don't drive their cars?"
UTA employees have yelled at her for trying to board in the middle of a car when the ends were full, she said. Removing at least one seat at the ends would help.
Some riders without bikes also thought it would help ease their ride.
The bikes are starting to create a tight squeeze for everyone on TRAX, longtime rider Elaine Camp said.
"It's difficult if you get on at the ends. Kind of trips you up," she said. It never keeps her from getting on. "I'll just climb over," she said. But it does cause problems for people pushing strollers.
Disabled riders access trains through ramps at the front, and bikes are not allowed there.
The removal of a seat necessarily means fewer places to sit at busy times such as during basketball games and concerts, but the trains already are standing-room-only during those times, Bott said.
bloomis@sltrib.com


UTA bike lockers rent for $10 a year plus a $65 key deposit. Some locations are on a waiting list, but others will offer more lockers as soon as ordered locks arrive. For information, e-mail pdierks@rideuta.com or call 801-287-2062.

Existing TRAX-FrontRunner lockers
* Sandy Civic Center: 11
* Historic Sandy: 4
* Midvale Center: 3
* Midvale Fort Union: 3
* Murray Central: 8
* Meadowbrook: 2
* Millcreek: 2
* Central Point: 2
* Ballpark: 3
* Salt Lake Central Station: 4
* Ogden: 4
* Woods Cross: 3
* Farmington: 3
* Layton: 6
* Clearfield: 4
* Roy: 4
* South Campus: 6
* Salt Lake Central Station: 2
* Historic Sandy: 2
* Midvale: 2
* Midvale Fort Union: 2
* Murray North: 2
* Millcreek: 1
* To be determined: 3