For downtown Salt Lake City resident and bicyclist Krista Bowers the easiest way to not take the car, she says, "is to not have one."

But life along the Wasatch Front can be tough for bicyclists. Bike routes are limited, with some towns off the grid for cyclists. Using mass transit requires hauling a bike on buses and trains because there is not a lot of safe storage at public transit stops. And lifting the bike onto a bus or train, any serious bicyclist knows, means the chain hitting the pants and leaving grease marks — not exactly attractive for work.

For Bowers, a proposed "Bicycle Transit Center" can't come soon enough. During afternoon rush hour Tuesday, the Utah Transit Authority presented its plans for the center, tentatively planned near the Intermodal Hub at 300 South and 600 West. It could feature indoor bike parking, bike rentals and shops for bike repairs and accessories.

Bowers would like Salt Lake to be among other cities — including Chicago, Washington D.C., Seattle, San Francisco — with bike transit centers because her "carless" lifestyle would become much easier. For instance, if Bowers wants to visit Ogden or take an Amtrak to California, she has to ride her bike to the Intermodal Hub and take the bike with her on the rail. She'd never leave her bike unattended and outside at the Intermodal Hub because "it's not the most secure neighborhood," she said. But with indoor storage "I know it's safe, I know it's taken care of."

The number of Utahns who use their bikes as commuting vehicles has increased. "Gas prices probably have something to do with it, but there has been a skyrocketing number of bicyclists out there," said Carrie Bohnsack-Ware, UTA spokeswoman.

"At one point, somebody in the office counted 23 bikes in one door of FrontRunner," Bohnsack-Ware said. "They were piling them on. And you know it's not fair to riders without bicycles because they are having a hard time getting on and off. But then, we don't want to say 'no bicycles."'

UTA will study surveys it distributed Tuesday to determine how many people ride and what inconveniences block bicycling.

The bike transit center is "really preliminary," Bohnsack-Ware said. "There's no money. We have no money yet to do anything."

The next public open house about a bike transit center is Feb. 11, 2009, where draft plans will be available. For more information, visit rideuta.com/projects.

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E-mail: lhancock@desnews.com