Bike Facility to Open at Metrolink Station

Beginning Monday, commuters who cycle to or from the Chatsworth Metrolink station will have a place to store their bikes and change their clothes.

A full-service bicycle storage and rental facility will open its doors as part of a continuing effort to get commuters to leave their cars at home, said Gary Wosk, spokesman for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

At a cost of $350,000, the Chatsworth Depot Bike Stop was built with funds from the city of Los Angeles Department of Transportation and revenue from the Proposition C half-cent sales tax earmarked for transportation project improvements.

“The facility shows that not everything that is effective has to cost millions of dollars,” Wosk said. “It’s the little things that go a very long way in helping preserve air quality and reduce congestion. Also, bicycling is a great form of exercise.”

The facility will offer indoor and outdoor bicycle lockers, on-site repairs, road and mountain bike rentals and other services, said Aaron Hanson, executive director of the 12th Council District Transportation Management Assn., which is managing the project.

At no charge, commuters going to work from the Chatsworth Metrolink station will also have the option of borrowing electric-powered bicycles.

“It’s for those who don’t want to sweat,” Hanson said.

Power will be supplied by Chatsworth Cyclery.

The bike stop will be the second such facility in Los Angeles County. The first facility operates at the Long Beach Transit Mall next to the MTA’s Metro Blue Line Station.

Wosk said the MTA will open a third facility next year at the Metrolink station in Santa Clarita.

A grand-opening ceremony will be held at 9 a.m. Monday at the Chatsworth facility, located at 10042-B Old Depot Plaza Road.