Newly installed westbound Avenue 19 bike lane at Broadway
Portions of Avenue 18 and Avenue 19 in Elysian Valley were recently resurfaced as a part of a scheduled Bureau of Street Services maintenance project. Taking advantage of the scheduled street improvement, a couplet of bike lanes were installed as part of the requisite restriping work following the resurfacing. They are an important first step in a project that will eventually connect the L.A. River Bike Path to Downtown Los Angeles via a continuous on-street bikeway route. More info below the fold.
Building a Network
The L.A. River Bike Path was extended to Barclay Street through Elysian Valley in 2010. This newest segment added an additional 2.58 miles along the L.A. River, bringing the path from Fletcher Drive in the west to its current terminus near the I-5 and I-110 interchange. Active Metrolink and Union Pacific Railroad tracks lining the river’s banks, as well as a Metro Gold Line light rail maintenance facility, currently inhibit continuing the bike path south along the river in the short term. Perhaps we’ll see a cantilevered path in the long term?
Since a more direct path along the L.A. River through Downtown Los Angeles will take some time to sort out, the City is planning on creating an alternate route that combines both path and on-street facilities to get bicyclists from the current terminus of the river path to DTLA. Plans call for the bike path to be extended along Riverside Dr. across the L.A. River (as well as Metrolink/Union Pacific R.R. tracks) via a newly reconstructed Riverside Dr. bridge.
Riverside Drive Bridge
The Riverside Drive Bridge project will demolish the existing bridge and replace it with a new smooth curved bridge that will include a bike path. On the northern side of the bridge, at the intersection of Riverside Dr. and San Fernando Rd., a roundabout will be installed that will include landscaping and a public art feature.
To North Spring Street and Beyond
Plans are already underway for a project that will seismically retrofit and widen the Spring St. bridge to secure four auto travel lanes, bike lanes, a striped median, shoulders, and sidewalks on both sides of the bridge. The project also includes the closure of Aurora Street and Baker Street at the existing intersections with North Spring Street. Wilhardt Street will be extended to Baker Street with a new 4-way intersection at North Spring Street.
As more developments come to the L.A. River Bike Path and its connecting bikeways, LADOT Bike Blog will do our best to keep you up to date.
Thank you LADOT, I’ve been waiting for this connection ever since the second phase of the river path was completed!
This is a great addition to the community – but I can’t help but wonder how bicyclists will access this lane today. The only connection point coming from North East LA is Humboldt – a street with two sets of tracks running parallel down the street. This is an ideal location to be thrown from your bike (as I have been, and as have others on rides I’ve coordinated through the area).
Connecting this path with the businesses in the neighborhood is essential – and I hope that plans to extend this network across the Spring and Broadway bridges are in the works. A North Figueroa bike facility is also much needed.
Any word on when North Figueroa will be blessed with a lane, path, or any other treatment?
Hillie Tallens, a Dutch engineer that participated in the ThinkBike workshop, indicated that there is a material that can fill in the railroad track/street gaps to make the surface smooth for bicycle safety and yet not interfere with the operation of the train. Hillie worked on the USC group project at the Thinkbike workshop.
Not sure the rails are even used any more. Can’t they just be covered permanently?
If we could connect these lanes with the ones on Cypress Ave (then to the ones on Eagle Rock Blvd), we’d really be cooking.
Josef and Chris!
We’re definitely trying to assemble all the ingredients you’ve mentioned. We’ll have more updates in the future.
Very good on these plans. Perhaps I missed it, but I have yet to see a solution
to riding a bicycle to tthe Largest city park in the United States from the
Capitol of movie making of the world. This would be a SAFER Los Feliz BlvdTo get to the MAIN Entrance. Using the sidewalk is the current safest way!
[...] The L.A. River Bike path bike lane bikeway takes a detour onto the streets of Lincoln Heights. I really really like bike lanes and I like the idea of getting them in first, then moving on to [...]
Thank LADOT for extending those connections and listening to the needs of commuter cyclists!
Sweet!!!!
On my commute home on these streets, I have occasionally ridden and tested these bike lanes after I cross the LA River via Broadway. The northern part of 19th is awful for bikes–after the bike lane ends (which it does after a very short distance) the road is badly chewed up in many places, the pavement over the bridge is textured so that you and your bike are shaken to bits, and and the curve to the right to get back to San Fernando/Fig has reduced visibility making it hazardous for cyclists. Unless the connectivity of these bike lanes to the adjacent streets is completed/improved, I would not recommend cyclists use these limited routes.
FYI–construction has recently started and lane closures are in effect as of April 19, 2012.
Problem alert: Riverside Drive where the LA River Bike Path ends (and cyclists heading to downtown must exit the path and proceed on Riverside) is reduced to one vehicular lane with no shoulder, no bike lane, and no signage. Vehicles cannot pass cyclists on this stretch, thus cyclists must take the lane. This could be a very dangerous spot as vehicles traveling at high rates of speed as they head south on Riverside approaching this construction (1) might not see cyclists in the middle of the travel lane (i.e., if distracted or if visibility is otherwise impacted by a host of factors–sun, nighttime, construction debris, etc.), (2) might not have enough advance warning to slow down to appropriate speeds to avoid hitting slower-moving cyclists, (3) might try to squeeze by some cyclists that are trying to give vehicles room to pass (which would be impossible) as they attempt to hug the curb.
It’s disappointing that no accommodations were made for the duration of this construction for the many bike commuters that use this route, but it’s even worse that there is set up a potentially very dangerous situation for cyclists for whom this is a major arterial commuting route and that there is no signage to attempt to alert or control the vehicular traffic.
Please let me know who else I can inform of this situation to raise the awareness to possibly make this a safer situation.
Thank you,
Ross