Bike Center Opens at Metrolink Station

A full-service bicycle storage and rental facility opened Monday at the Chatsworth Metrolink station amid perfect cycling conditions--sunny skies and mild temperatures.

“It’s very tempting for me to get on a bike and go,” said Aaron Hanson, executive director of the 12th Council District Transportation Management Assn., which is managing the new Chatsworth Depot Bike Stop.

The 6,500-square-foot bike center will offer indoor and outdoor bicycle lockers, on-site repairs, bike rentals and other services to encourage commuters to cycle to or from the Metrolink station, said City Councilman Hal Bernson, who represents the area.

“Bike riding is not only healthy, but it also improves traffic by taking cars off the street,” said Bernson, who is a board member of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

The $350,000 facility was built with revenue from the Proposition C half-cent sales tax, which is earmarked by the MTA for transportation project improvements, and with funds from the city’s Department of Transportation.

The opening coincided with the first day of California Bike Commute Week 1998, designated by the California Bicycle Coalition, a Sacramento-based bicycle advocacy group.

As part of Bike Commute Week, the coalition has marked Thursday as California Bike to Work Day. A free continental breakfast will be available to commuters at the Chatsworth station from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. that day.

The Chatsworth facility, at 10042-B Old Depot Plaza Road, operates from 6 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

It is the second bike stop to open in Los Angeles County. The first operates at the Long Beach Transit Mall next to the MTA’s Metro Blue Line station.