Forest Hills could get a bike cage

By adamg on Mon, 02/09/2009 - 9:55am

Boston Metro reports the MBTA is looking at installing a bike cage at Forest Hills, similar to the one at Alewife, which would give bicyclists a secure place to stow their bikes while they're at work.

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Comments

Did they ever fix the

By anon on Tue, 02/10/2009 - 3:58pm.

Did they ever fix the problem with the one at Alewife being unlocked all the time?

no problem to fix

By anon on Wed, 02/11/2009 - 9:57am.

unless the T starts charging people for the special Bike CharlieCards that open the cages, anyone can open the cage at any time

It doesn't matter if they can open the door

By BostonBiker on Thu, 02/12/2009 - 7:42am.

You still have to lock your bike to the racks inside, the door is just a further way to slow down thieves, no system is theft proof, but if my choice is lock up in a camera monitored barn (safe from weather), with a door only a certain group of bikers could open, vs just some pole on the street I would take the barn any day.

Better still, charge the bicyclists a

By roadman on Thu, 02/12/2009 - 3:09pm.

daily fee for the security of leaving their bikes in the special super-duper ultra-expensive high tech "cage".

After all, if I have to pay to park my car at a T station, why should the bike riders get a free pass?

Simple

By Kaz on Thu, 02/12/2009 - 3:25pm.

Because you could park all of the bikes for the same number of people who drive cars in about 10 of the spaces being used for cars right now. You wouldn't have anywhere near the same maintenance costs for the equivalent number of bike racks and you could even knock down the garage and put in a nice park. All of the money going to giving you a place to store your car during the day (which probably doesn't even equal the amount per car they take in for parking) could be going to improving the actual transit line. Bike riders are not anywhere near the same burden on the system as car drivers.

So, you pay to park your car because the bike riders are doing you a favor by not driving their own cars instead.

Good points, except that it will

By roadman on Thu, 02/12/2009 - 4:27pm.

still cost the T money to construct the bike cage. So, why not charge the bicyclists a nominal fee to recoup those costs?

Also, I respectfully disagree with your comment that the parking fees do not cover the true costs of operating and maintaining the lots. Instead, I would suspect it's the other way around - that the T is using the surplus from the parking fees to pay other costs. Especially since the rates were recently raised.

And for the record - I normally don't drive my car to a T parking lot, as I'm within walking distance of the commuter rail.