The T blew up a few bike racks at Alewife over the summer. There has been construction activity at the old locations. There have been a lot of bikes locked to railings with the remaining bike racks overflowing.

Today I rolled up to the remaining bike racks and a couple security guards were passing out pamphlets that advised me not to get my bike stolen. More interesting, they handed me a “Bike CharlieCard” that I can use to open the gates at the two new bike cages. The MBTA also had a promo on the new bike cages today.

I have a few questions:

• Will this really help prevent bike theft? They handed me a card, no questions asked, and it opened the door for me. Can’t a thief just apply for a key to the castle? It is a theft deterrent, but will it actually deter anyone? I’m not sure.
• Maintenance. The T simply sucks at it. They don’t have anything that doesn’t break down. Trains, turnstiles, parking lot gates, ticket dispensers, signals, tracks, bridges, speakers, coin dispensers, buses, dollar-bill readers, pavement, batteries, rechargers, refuellers, radios, electronic signage, locks, security systems, etc. If the T has it, it breaks. Let’s see if this cage is still intact and functional in 6 months or 6 years.

At the moment I’m guardedly optimistic. Perhaps the T got this one right?