CTA Blue Line briefly stopped after bike rider falls off platform

Tribune Staff report   11:15 a.m. CDT, September 19, 2012

Trains on part of the CTA Blue Line were stopped briefly this morning after a bike rider heading down a ramp at a West Side "L" station lost control and went off the platform onto the tracks, authorities said.

The man was in good condition when taken to John H. Stroger Hospital following the incident about 10:20 a.m. at the Kedzie-Homan station, 530 S. Kedzie Ave., said Meg Ahlheim, a spokeswoman for the Chicago Fire Department.

The victim fell onto the tracks and hurt his leg, police said.

Maps 530 S Kedzie Ave, Chicago, IL 60624, USA Ads by GoogleThe accident happened when a CTA customer tried to ride a bicycle down a ramp that leads from the station entrance to the platform at the ground level of the Eisenhower Expressway, said CTA spokeswoman Catherine Hosinski.

The bike rider lost control at the bottom of the ramp, and fell onto the tracks, but did not hit the electrified third rail and was not hit by a train, Hosinski said.

Power was turned off briefly on part of the Forest Park leg of the Blue Line, but was restored within about 20 minutes.

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Permalink Reply by Bill Savage on September 19, 2012 at 6:48am

Not to blame the victim here, but why on earth would you ride down this ramp?  Much worse than riding on the sidewalk even.  Once in an El station, you walk your bike.  It's common courtesy.

Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on September 19, 2012 at 8:54am

Guess the wait turned out longer than 30 minutes.

h' said:

Because not riding down could mean missing a train and potentially an extra 30+ minute wait depending on Blue Line construction.

Cameron Puetz said:

I'm going to refer that question to my 17 year old or intoxicated self. He said that it looked like fun.

Bill Savage said:

Not to blame the victim here, but why on earth would you ride down this ramp?  Much worse than riding on the sidewalk even.  Once in an El station, you walk your bike.  It's common courtesy.

Permalink Reply by dan brown on September 19, 2012 at 9:39am

remember the darwin awards ?   ("......watch this")

Permalink Reply by Bill Savage on September 19, 2012 at 12:33pm

Someone put a gun to his head and said "ride down this ramp designed for pedestrians!"?   I'm a situational cyclist: sometimes (rarely) go on a sidewalk, or against a one-way street.  Like everyone, I drift through most stop signs, and red lights on empty streets.  But some things are just never OK, and one of them is riding a bike on a ramp down to a train platform.  Too dangerous, as this result shows, and rude to other CTA patrons and workers. 

h' said:

We don't know that it was his decision.

Michael B said:

Making the decision to ride a bike down that ramp is all the information I need. Stupid & irresponsible. 

h' said:

I will resrve judgment re: the relative intelligence of his ass until more of the details are known.

Michael B said:

I wonder how long the trains were delayed because they had to drag his stupid ass off the tracks.

h' said:

Because not riding down could mean missing a train and potentially an extra 30+ minute wait depending on Blue Line construction.

Cameron Puetz said:

I'm going to refer that question to my 17 year old or intoxicated self. He said that it looked like fun.

Bill Savage said:

Not to blame the victim here, but why on earth would you ride down this ramp?  Much worse than riding on the sidewalk even.  Once in an El station, you walk your bike.  It's common courtesy.

Permalink Reply by Vilda on September 19, 2012 at 12:40pm

Amen ;-)

Cameron Puetz said:

I'm going to refer that question to my 17 year old or intoxicated self. He said that it looked like fun.

Bill Savage said:

Not to blame the victim here, but why on earth would you ride down this ramp?  Much worse than riding on the sidewalk even.  Once in an El station, you walk your bike.  It's common courtesy.

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on September 19, 2012 at 2:06pm

Was the guy's name Johnny Knoxville or perhaps Steve-O?  Wee-Man maybe?

If you're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough...

Thank Zeus he missed the electrified pickup rail (or perhaps it wasn't energized at the time because there wasn't a train coming.) 

Permalink Reply by Marco Rayos on September 20, 2012 at 2:18am

Someone is hurt on a bicycle and ridicule and insult is seriously the response from some cyclists?

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on September 20, 2012 at 2:25am

Lighten up Francis...

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on September 20, 2012 at 3:06am

Apparently not.  I ride it on occasion, and I get the points you made earlier about how empty some of those west side stations can be outside of rush hour, and how long those waits can be if you miss a train. 

Don't interpret this to mean that I generally approve of riding on ramps or platforms.  I get what Howard was saying about how this might have an "oh-shit-am-I-gonna-miss-the-train-nobody's-here-I-can-ride-there-quicker-on-the-ramp" moment. 

h' said:

Gabe and Cameron don't use the Forest Park branch of the Blue Line.

Permalink Reply by Bill Savage on September 20, 2012 at 3:30am

Criticism of a bad judgment--riding your bike on a pedestrian ramp down to an El platform--is not "ridicule and insult."  It's criticism.

Marco Rayos said:

Someone is hurt on a bicycle and ridicule and insult is seriously the response from some cyclists?

Permalink Reply by Bill Savage on September 20, 2012 at 3:37am

By the by, I can now say I've seen worse: last night about 8:50 on a crowded Fullerton El platform, a youngish (late 20s?) woman actually rode her fat-tire bike ON THE D@#& PLATFORM.  Calling out "Excuuuuuse Meeeeee!" in a tone of voice that can only be called "Lincoln Park Entitled" she wheeled herself along the edge of the Red Line side of the platform till she got a little beyond the spot where the front door would open.  When a totally jammed train pulled up, she was walking her bike towards a car where literally no one more would fit.  I looked at her with a WTF? expression as I boarded, barely able to fit myself, and only the train operator telling her "No!  There's another train following, there's no room here!" kept her from trying to jam her bike into the car.  Where she thought people would move to let her on, I have no idea: every foot of space was occupied by a standing passenger, all the way into the car, not just at the doors as is sometimes the case.  She actually ARGUED with the operator that she had "every right" to bring the bike on the train, a train some people weren't able to board even sans vehicle.  So I guess riding on the ramp isn't all that bad.

Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on September 20, 2012 at 3:47am

Yeah. I'm with you.  I have rode p and down ramps and half way get off when I realize it's a really bad idea. I've stopped trying to ride up and down the north ave beach bridge and have succumbed to walking the bike there.

Bill Savage said:

Someone put a gun to his head and said "ride down this ramp designed for pedestrians!"?   I'm a situational cyclist: sometimes (rarely) go on a sidewalk, or against a one-way street.  Like everyone, I drift through most stop signs, and red lights on empty streets.  But some things are just never OK, and one of them is riding a bike on a ramp down to a train platform.  Too dangerous, as this result shows, and rude to other CTA patrons and workers. 

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