Bicycling

Metro-North Makes Its M-7 Train Cars More Bike-Friendly

By Aaron Naparstek

10:37 AM EST on January 7, 2009

The Metro-North Railroad’s M-7 train cars now offer special accommodations for passengers traveling with bicycles, the MTA announced yesterday. The railroad is just testing this out for now, so if you’re a Metro-North rider, management wants to know what you think of the new bike hooks. From the press release:

The railroad is seeking feedback from the cycling community on the
hooks – their ease of use, placement, etc. Metro-North has established
an e-mail address to which people can send comments about the bike
mount: surveys@mnr.org. The intent is to increase safety, convenience
and sustainable mobility for all customers.

One potential issue that might come up: The bike hooks are located in the space reserved for disabled riders…

The hooks are located in the area designated for wheelchairs, which
will continue to have first priority in this space. Prominent signs
will specify that cyclists must remove bicycles if the area is needed
for a customer in a wheelchair. Feedback on the proposal also is being
sought from wheel chair users.

Photo: Frank English/MTA Metro-North Railroad.

Aaron Naparstek

Aaron Naparstek is the founder and former editor-in-chief of Streetsblog. Based in Brooklyn, New York, Naparstek's journalism, advocacy and community organizing work has been instrumental in growing the bicycle network, removing motor vehicles from parks, and developing new public plazas, car-free streets and life-saving traffic-calming measures across all five boroughs. He was also one of the original cast members of the "War on Cars" podcast. You can find more of his work on his website.