what NOT to do in a downtown Metra station

Is it too much to ask for folks to use common sense and NOT ride their bikes on the platforms in downtown Metra stations?  Apparently someone thinks so (see letter - p.3).  I've seen it happen on occasion, but fortunately not often.

There are too many opportunities for collisions and not much maneuvering room on a station platform.  The last thing we need is to get bikes banned from Metra again by doing things on trains and in stations that get too much negative attention.  

Being able to take bikes on Metra has been huge progress for sustainable transportation and recreation throughout the area.  I really don't want to lose such an enormous piece of my overall transportation pie.

Yes, we CAN walk our bikes in and out of the station.  </rant>

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Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on June 30, 2012 at 10:28am

I agree, riding on the platforms could be an unsafe and/or rude thing to do in most circumstances.

But with some folks there is absolutely no pleasing them no matter HOW MUCH kissing up to them we do.   I suspect that this is the type of person we are dealing with here with "Bill."  If someone is horsing around on the platform with grandma's wheelchair I suppose this guy might get a stick up his and probably would want wheelchairs kept from the trains too.

I agree  with your statement that yes we CAN push our bikes through the stations -even when folks shoot us daggers or try and shove in front of us as we approach the stairs because they don't want to be "stuck" behind us as we carry our bikes down them from the platform.   And if someone wants to step on a pedal with their off-side foot and coast next to their bike for a hundred feet as long as nobody is near them and it isn't a safety issue for anyone else that isn't going to bother me either, which is what I suspect this person probably really saw. 

Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on June 30, 2012 at 11:46am

Damn! I really thought you had one there Anne.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on June 30, 2012 at 12:01pm

I don't know the guy who wrote the letter.  I wasn't there seeing what he saw, but I can assure you this isn't a made-up issue fabricated by anti-bike people.  

I can tell you that I have seen people riding on platforms at a few different stations, not just stepping on a pedal and coasting.  They've done it when there were people walking on the platform and there wasn't a lot of free space.  That kind of thing could jeopardize our future ability to take bikes on Metra.

Would you be surprised if I told you the typical offender is a teenage boy?  Most of the people I've seen doing it were teenage boys.

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on June 30, 2012 at 4:17pm

Not in the least bit.  90% of what is done wrong by idiots in the civilian populations is perpetrated by teenage through 30-something male children. 

Anne Alt said:


Would you be surprised if I told you the typical offender is a teenage boy?  Most of the people I've seen doing it were teenage boys.

Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on June 30, 2012 at 4:43pm

*scratches head*

James, you must be reading a different letter than me.  Where exactly are wheelchairs mentioned?  Furthermore, how is horsing around with a wheelchair anywhere close to riding a bicycle on the train platform?  (And where have you seen someone horsing around with a wheelchair?  I doubt the wheelchair user would tolerate that.)  Last I checked, wheelchair users couldn't fall over if both wheels were on a level surface unlike a bike rider who can fall over -  level surface or not. 

Secondly, if they banned wheelchairs (which is completely out of the scope of complaint in the letter), the ADA (American Disabilities Act, just so you don't get confused) would be so up in arms there's no way it would gain any ground.

So what exactly are you crying bloody murder about here?

ames BlackHeron said:

I agree, riding on the platforms could be an unsafe and/or rude thing to do in most circumstances.

But with some folks there is absolutely no pleasing them no matter HOW MUCH kissing up to them we do.   I suspect that this is the type of person we are dealing with here with "Bill."  If someone is horsing around on the platform with grandma's wheelchair I suppose this guy might get a stick up his and probably would want wheelchairs kept from the trains too.

I agree  with your statement that yes we CAN push our bikes through the stations -even when folks shoot us daggers or try and shove in front of us as we approach the stairs because they don't want to be "stuck" behind us as we carry our bikes down them from the platform.   And if someone wants to step on a pedal with their off-side foot and coast next to their bike for a hundred feet as long as nobody is near them and it isn't a safety issue for anyone else that isn't going to bother me either, which is what I suspect this person probably really saw. 

Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on June 30, 2012 at 4:45pm

The "civilian population" is outside of the scope of the letter cited and completely irrelevant to the topic at hand.

James BlackHeron said:

Not in the least bit.  90% of what is done wrong by idiots in the civilian populations is perpetrated by teenage through 30-something male children. 

Anne Alt said:


Would you be surprised if I told you the typical offender is a teenage boy?  Most of the people I've seen doing it were teenage boys.

Permalink Reply by Martin Hazard on June 30, 2012 at 5:07pm

My guess is that the rider was on a vacant platform on the south terminal leading to Madison. If this was the case I don't think it an especially egregious violation. However, we don't need to give the anti bike crowd any ammunition, especially when dealing with Metra.

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