REGION: Sprinter lockers found jammed with junk

Transit officials work to install see-through doors on lockers at all stations

By PAUL SISSON - Staff Writer | Wednesday, September 17, 2008 5:09 PM PDT ∞

Two employees of Ventura-based Turtle Storage Inc. install see-through doors on bike lockers at the Vista Transit Center Wednesday. The doors are designed to discourage the public from packing the lockers full of personal items. (Photo by Paul Sisson - staff photographer)

NORTH COUNTY ---- Though they are intended to hold bicycles, lockers at each of the Sprinter light-rail line's 15 stations are being used to store a range of personal items from suitcases to chain saws, transit officials said this week.

To solve the problem, the North County Transit District is replacing the locker doors with see-through mesh versions and will require users to pay a deposit fee and reserve locker space.

Transit district spokesman Tom Kelleher said that federal rail safety regulations require all bike lockers at train platforms to have the mesh doors, but that the Sprinter's lockers had solid opaque barriers. He said the lockers have been waiting for new doors to be installed for several months.

In the meantime, some Sprinter riders have decided to put their own belongings in the metal crucibles, adding their own padlocks which transit workers now must cut and remove.

This week, transit workers have been moving from station to station, cutting the locks and emptying the lockers of all contents. The property is being hauled to a storage unit at the transit district's parking garage at the Oceanside Transit Center.

"So far they have found a total of 10 bikes," Kelleher said. "They have only made it through (the) Escondido Avenue (station) so far."

Kelleher said Wednesday that he did not know how many locks had been cut to date, though he did say that many lockers are found to be packed when opened.

"Some of them are absolutely crammed with personal belongings," Kelleher said.

Mike Figueroa, a supervisor with Turtle Storage Inc., the company installing the new doors, said he and his workers have seen signs that people may have been living in the lockers or vandalizing them.

"Some of them they were using as a bathroom," Figueroa said. "Sometimes you can see it and you can smell it."

Once all of the lockers are emptied and new doors are installed, the lockers will be turned over to the regional "Ridelink" program, which charges cyclists a $25 or $35 deposit to reserve a locker which is secured with its own dedicated lock.

Dan Martin, a program manager at the San Diego Association of Governments, said the deposit is refunded when a bike user returns their key. Riders also must sign an agreement that they will use the locker for commuting purposes.

"We ask for a deposit to make sure that things are kept in good order," Martin said. "The whole point is to give people another way to cover that last mile between home and the station or between the station and work."

He said Ridelink has a total of 672 lockers at 47 transit centers throughout the county. To reserve a locker, dial 511 and say "Ridelink" to reach an operator.

In North County, some who have been using the Sprinter lockers aren't pleased with the new system.

Jude Dreisbach of Oceanside said in an e-mail to the North County Times that the change from free lockers to the reservation system was irritating. Dreisbach said he regularly rides his bike to the Sprinter's Rancho del Oro station, leaving it in a locker for safe keeping while at work.

"Now I have to walk to work for a week until the locker doors are changed," Dreisbach wrote. "I blame the (North County Transit District) for coming up with this ridiculous plan to have users pay money and fill out an application."

"I also blame the idiots who have abused the lockers," he added.

The district will hold all belongings taken from lockers for 30 days. To find an item, call (760) 967-2851.

Contact staff writer Paul Sisson at (760) 901-4087 or psisson@nctimes.com.

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Pre-Registration Comments[-]Go to Top

Tweekers ya think wrote on Sep 17, 2008 3:18 PM:Too funny, I wonder how many stolen items are in those lockers

Sr Rider wrote on Sep 17, 2008 4:16 PM:Well, since it is vitally important that all trash cans on the platforms be transparent as a security measure against potenetial terrorism I wonder how the good folks at NCTD are going to justify leaving this crap locked up in opaque lockers for some time in the same locations? Would have been unfortuanate if some of this "junk" had blown up, eh? INEXCUSABLE!

Herbie wrote on Sep 17, 2008 4:54 PM:Seems like a locker like this would be an excellent location for a devastating time bomb, set to detonate when the most people are likely to be around. Thank Heavens this issue is being addressed so that we are at least able to realize that we have to be right all the time, they only have to be right once.

huh wrote on Sep 17, 2008 6:04 PM:Sounds like Sr and Herbie have been drinking the GOP kool-aid. Not everyone is out to hurt you, they just can't afford a storage unit because everyone is broke.

bogie wrote on Sep 17, 2008 7:55 PM:I guess I lucked out. I'm the only one out of "everyone" that isn't broke. Maybe because I don't spend beyond my means?

Home-free people wrote on Sep 17, 2008 9:58 PM:have few secure places to store clothes and toiletries while collecting recyclables or searching for food. It doesn't occur to everyone that for the cost of one night at a motel, they can take a one-unit health class at Palomar (where there is a shower and a library) and get a locker, too.

Umm.. wrote on Sep 17, 2008 10:12 PM:The way the article reads, it sounds as if they also take bikes that are legitimately there for the day because they are there when they get there and start cutting locks.

I got the impression that these things were there on a first come first served basis. Guess not..

Chain saws? Too funny.

wew wrote on Sep 17, 2008 10:16 PM:I geuss they looked like a bathroom to some folks. Wonder what their outhouse looks like at home?

Mike S. wrote on Sep 17, 2008 11:12 PM:The irritating thing is that there aren't more accessible open bike racks. In order to rent a locker, you have to promise to use the locker three days a week. Some weeks I only bike to the station twice a week, and under those circumstances I can be evicted immediately. Fortunately at Escondido Transit Center there are at least some bike racks a few minutes walk from the train--which I thought wasn't very convenient. But now I realize it's better than what you get at other Sprinter stations--which is nothing but the lockers. If you want to bike to the train station twice a week--too bad!

Herbie wrote on Sep 18, 2008 12:36 AM:Just because I don't sack out under a bush doesn't mean I have it in for the homeless. But bike lockers are for bikes.

train rider wrote on Sep 18, 2008 2:30 AM:They posted a notice last week about emptying the lockers. Anyone who was legitimately using them for a bike had plenty of time to take their stuff out. People were seriously abusing the lockers. Last time I tried, I couldn't find an open locker for my bike and had to squeeze it on the train.

A good service some of our local service groups could do is to set up designated lockers for the local "home-free". That way they don't have to worry about their few possessions being stolen. Maybe at some of the locations that house the winter shelter?

She Said wrote on Sep 18, 2008 4:54 AM:This is just another example of the "Me First" mentalities pervasive in our society.

So True wrote on Sep 18, 2008 6:27 AM:The lockers are for bikes FOR THE DAY! People are just being selfish and cheap!Nest thing you know someone is going to be living in one!

esteban wrote on Sep 18, 2008 7:38 AM:There should have been ample notice of emptying the lockers. I have a friend who lost his prized possesions when the transit authority broke int his locker.

Jim in Oceanside wrote on Sep 18, 2008 8:07 AM:Let's see, you have to first reserve the locker - pay a deposit, then rent it for a minimum of 3 days a week. Who cares what is in the locker after all of that? Place the lockers on a day to day rental, like the legendary lockers at the bus station, anything kept in a locker over 24 hours is removed and placed in the lost & found storage for the legal period of time. Otherwise, stop wasting time, effort and money worrying about who put what in a locker. As for explosive devices, gee whiz! If someone wants to blow something up, they will find a way to do it regardless of the locker availability! Or maybe we should have the same type of security check airports have in order to access the lockers and loading platform! I am sure that would make Sr Rider & Herbie happy.

esteban wrote on Sep 18, 2008 8:22 AM:To fake esteban...no one cares.

Great idea wrote on Sep 18, 2008 8:28 AM:For low income housing. Put a few portable toilets around, stack these say 3 or 4 high. Cheaper then the apartments, housing etc that are being built. Use any income to help pay the Sprnter debt.

Hey esteban wrote on Sep 18, 2008 8:29 AM:If they were truly your friend why didn't you store it for them?

WiseGuy wrote on Sep 18, 2008 9:02 AM:I think Esteban was joking. Who would store their prized possesions in those locker? Esteban, love the guitar playing!

To esteban wrote on Sep 18, 2008 9:20 AM:Who in the world keeps their "prized possesions" in a locker at the transit center?

Terrils wrote on Sep 18, 2008 9:24 AM:Sheesh, esteban. Let me translate: "My friend was deliberately breaking the rules and he got penalized for it." Cry us a river.

da lockanator wrote on Sep 18, 2008 10:38 AM:for one.. who stores anything of real value in a locker at the transit station? geez. For two. where's the auction so i can get a new bike. For three. Create more space to park your bike at.

esteban wrote on Sep 18, 2008 11:40 AM:To the fake,fake esteban, no one cares that you care. Please qiut using my blog name for your antics. Get a locker and make a home....

Oside Res wrote on Sep 18, 2008 1:19 PM:Esteban keeps crow in his bike locker.

to train rider wrote on Sep 18, 2008 2:03 PM:Community lockers (and bathrooms and showers) are a great idea, and given the actual population here in Escondido, might bring in revenue. I recall a skating rink with lockers - a quarter each time it was opened. Truck stops sell showers to travelers. This seems more appropriate to serve the population of Escondido... more realistic than a high dollar high rise hotel.

sure y not wrote on Sep 18, 2008 2:34 PM:Lets give the homeless a place to take a bath and lock up there stuff. That will bring the city a bigger population of these folks. At least they can use the money i give em to good use.

Jsten wrote on Sep 18, 2008 3:13 PM:OHHHHH Estebannnnnn! If thats you....

This is San Diego, land of the "skaters" and "floaters", and land of the enhanced community services that start out looking good, but then suffer the onset of entropy due to skaters and floaters. Losing all your sketchy live posessions is as natural as living for free off the beach. Besides, who needs all that materialistic junk anyway. Its probably in storage in Oceanside.

enduro wrote on Sep 18, 2008 4:21 PM:See through lockers, to help bike thiefs find the most expensive bike.

There should be... wrote on Sep 18, 2008 6:34 PM:plenty of crow to go around for the ole Esteban. hahahaha

Angel wrote on Sep 18, 2008 11:08 PM:I see the illegals living around the transit stations. Maybe they have found a spot to sleep for the night and keep their stuff when they are standing in the Home Depot or Vons parking lot during the day.

Lockers are for the bikes people!! Good job transit officials!!It is too bad the minority ruins it for the majority!!

rsxguy wrote on Sep 19, 2008 12:15 AM:transparent doors is a great idea it makes it so you cant lock pets or food that will spoil and attract pests in there(homeless do that) makes it so you cant use it as a personal storage area for your belongings(homeless and illegals) a bathroom(homeless and idiots) and addresses a safety issue about bombs(member in the 80's and 90's all the pipebombs from teens and white supremicy/militia groups)... and to all the people who complane..boo f'in hoo use your house to store your stuff and remember that NCTD DOESN'T HAVE TO HAVE LOCKERS FOR YOU THEY ARE THERE AS A CURTOSY

vincent wrote on Oct 28, 2008 2:33 PM:This is the worst program. Ever since they replaced these doors/lockers, I have been trying to register or get a locker from them. Till this day(over a month) I have not been able to get a locker, and when tried contacting the RideLink ppl, I always get a "Our Office Is Closed" message during business hour. For the past 2 month, I have been unable to ride my bide to work due to this and have to drive through traffics again. I'm just annoyed....and just need to let it out.

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