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Photo by Wiltastic

Rider Beth has another observation about the Glen Park BART station. She wonders whether the escalator’s being shut down for six months led to more serious accidents on the stairs. Read on.

The Glen Park BART station down escalator reopened last week to little fanfare. You can see some diaries on this repairwork at these two posts: Woe Unto Glen Park BART Riders and Further Glen Park BART Woes. The escalator was out of commission for about six months, from sometime in February until late August.

During that time, lots of passengers were forced to use the very long stone staircase to get down to the platform (or use the elevator). At least once I stumbled on the stairs, and I know other people have had similar mishaps. Once, when we were heading out, my partner Devin and I saw that the stairs were blocked off because someone had taken a serious fall on them and paramedics were attending to him/her.

That made me wonder whether the escalator’s breakdown had led to many more serious accidents on the stairs, since so many more people were using them. So, I requested documents, first from the SF Fire Department (since their paramedics handle such incidents) and then from the SF Department of Emergency Management, who had the records from the 911 calls.

In short, no more people suffered serious injuries on the stairs — serious enough to call an ambulance, anyway — between February and mid-August, 2011 when compared to the prior year.

On June 9, 2011, a 67-year-old woman fell on the stairs and broke her ankle or left lower leg (the report mentions both). The only other report of a fall of any kind in the Glen Park BART station came on June 30, when a woman fell onto the tracks and a train rolled over her, causing no injuries.

Rewind one year. On April 16, 2010, someone fell down the stairs and broke his or her leg. Ironically, three days earlier, on April 13, an elderly patron fell down the escalator and required paramedic evaluation for unknown injuries.

It’s possible more people suffered really minor stumbles and falls, but fortunately, it looks like this extended escalator outage didn’t lead to any more serious injuries than you’d see in a typical year. Whew.

Did any of you Glen Park regulars take a tumble on the stairs while the escalator was out of commission?

Thousands of different people could’ve written this post, but it was BART rider and friend of Muni Diaries Blair (she of the 12-Folsom fix) who put it best:

Nothing will stop the scouuuuuuurge, because these people can’t read:

BIKES ON BART RULES

• During non-commute hours, bikes are allowed on all trains except the first car or any crowded car.
• During commute hours (7:00 to 9:00 AM and 4:30 to 6:30 PM, weekdays), bikes are not allowed in the first three cars of any train.
• Folded bikes are allowed in all cars at all times.
• Regardless of any other rule, bikes are never allowed on crowded cars. Use your good judgment and only board cars that can comfortably accommodate you and your bicycle.
• Bicyclists must hold their bikes while on the trains.
• Bicyclists must use elevators or stairs, not escalators, and always walk bikes.
• Bicyclists must yield priority seating to seniors and people with disabilities, yield to other passengers, and not block aisles or doors.
• In case of an evacuation, leave your bike on the train and do not let it block aisles or doors.
• Bicyclists under 14 years old must be accompanied by an adult.
• Gas powered vehicles are never permitted.
• On BART property, bikes must be parked in racks and lockers. Bikes parked against poles, fences or railings will be removed.

Violation of the above rules is subject to citation under CA Vehicle Code Sec. 21113 and Sec. 42001.

http://www.bart.gov/guide/bikes/bikeRules

Dear BART:
Please post the bike rules above EVERY bike section in your train cars.
BAM!

This all comes about because, well, every fucka day, but also, BART rider Joshua tweeted the above photo and said, “Hey self-absorbed bike guy on this uber-crowded @SFBART car.. just wait for the next train. #BikeFAIL”

Correct!