Bicyclists Find Subway No Easy Ride

Last week, subway rider Tom Sweet took an unintended $250 gamble.

At 7 a.m. the Canoga Park resident hoisted his black, 18-speed mountain bicycle onto the Metro Red Line.

Sweet had no idea his commute violated a subway ban on bikes from 6 to 9 a.m. and 3 to 7 p.m.

He wasn’t caught.

And under a new proposal being considered, he would not be liable for a penalty.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which manages the subway, was asked last week to part company with Boston, San Francisco and Chicago and join New York in eliminating time restrictions on bicycles on the subways.

The agency will study the issue in depth at the request of City Councilman Hal Bernson.

“It is certainly an issue that has been raised to us by the bicycle community, and we are looking into it,” said Carol Inge, director of rail, busway and bikeway planning at MTA. “We want to encourage people to ride their bikes.”

The biggest obstacle may be rush-hour passengers, according to a spot survey.

“I see [bikes] being a little bit of a problem,” said Joe Guimond, a Red Line commuter from Tarzana. “Depending on what time I come home, it’s standing room only.”

On some lines, particularly during evening rush hours, all cars are filled to capacity.

“The rules should . . . allow access on trains for cyclists during rush hour, but acknowledge that if the train is too crowded, they will defer to passengers,” said Ron Milam, executive director of the Los Angeles County Bike Coalition.

Beyond the discomfort of being sandwiched next to a bicycle, some passengers fear the potential safety hazards of the unsecured vehicles.

Although Metrolink trains provide straps to hold a bike’s wheels in place, there are no such restraints on Metro Rail, where cyclists may sit in handicapped seats and hold their bikes or lean against the doors to help balance their bikes.

“Sometimes they move the bikes across aisles or drive them over your foot,” said Carl Heft of Irvine, a Red Line rider.

But Milam said the more important concern is simply gaining access during peak times. Most cyclists, he said, can be trusted to obey the rules. Limiting train access is just one of many barriers the city creates for those who want to use alternate transportation, Milam said.

The cycling community has become increasingly vocal. On Wednesday, Milam’s organization asked the MTA to increase funding for bicycle projects and give bicycle concerns a higher priority in the transportation plan.

The agency has contacted 25 rail providers across the country to learn what other systems are doing. The majority have some type of peak-hour restriction for bicycles, officials said.

Boston’s Metropolitan Transit Authority and the Bay Area’s BART system limit bike access to off-peak hours. The Chicago Transit Authority just launched a pilot program to allow bike access only on weekends. Previously, bikes were not allowed at all.

And although New York City’s subway system does not impose formal time restrictions because of the city’s dependence on bike messengers, a cyclist can be required to wait if a train is too crowded.

Permits are required to legally take a bike onto Metro Rail at any time. They are free and valid for three years. To obtain one, a rider must agree to a list of rules governing everything from bicycle size to conduct on the train.

About 4,500 permits have been issued--but some riders never even get to that point.

Gleiza Damsky, 22, who recently moved to the city from New York, said the rules and restrictions discouraged her from commuting with her bicycle.

Instead, Damsky zips to the North Hollywood station each morning, unencumbered, courtesy of her black leather roller skates.