A Feasible New Bike Path Coming to the Lower Arroyo Seco
February 19, 2010 § 4 Comments
The county of Los Angeles held a public meeting yesterday to review a new plan for the Arroyo Seco Bike Path. The county has funding from Metro to build a bikeway along the Arroyo… but past proposals have met with resistance.
Last night there was broad consensus for moving forward with a relatively short (1280-feet, about 1/4-mile ) uncontroversial portion of the bikeway – extending from Avenue 26 to San Fernando Road. One thousand feet of that right of way is Caltrans (the state Department of Transportation) land, located below the ramps connecting the 5 and 110 Freeways. The remaining 280 feet currently belong to the city of Los Angeles. The project would include an asphalt bike path, and a decomposed granite (DG) walkway.
The quarter-mile project is estimated to cost about $610,000, which is just less than the county’s remaining funding of about $750,000. The estimate is preliminary – for just the bike and walk path, with no landscaping or lighting. Agency staff stressed that it could actually cost more if there are any issues with toxics in the soil – which is something they haven’t analyzed yet.
The project as designed would only connect to the south side of Avenue 26. A number of attendees suggested that the bikeway extend under Avenue 26, so it could be accessed from either side of the street. There is already a sufficiently large passageway below the southeast part of the bridge, so an undercrossing is not expected to need extensive bridge abutment work.
Caltrans is applying for Transportation Enhancement (TEA) funding that could landscape the site. Though the outcome of their application will be announced in May, landscape funding is not expected to be programmed and available for construction until 2014.
The city portion of the proposed path is an existing Bureau of Sanitation yard. The southwest edge of the yard has a ramped transfer station, used for dumping loads of trash from smaller trucks into larger trucks. Apparently this station is no longer in use, and the space can be used for the bike path.
Last night’s meeting was encouraging because it appears that the county, city and state are working together well. Kudos to L.A. County Supervisor Gloria Molina and L.A. City Councilmember Ed Reyes for navigating this project out of the infeasible category back into the it-just-might-happen-in-a-year-or-two category.
The county plans to host another meeting in a approximately three months to review final designs.
I rode my bike to the meeting yesterday and was glad to hear the excitment about this project. Thanks Joe for all the work you do! What is inevitablly planned for this area is exciting as well AKA “Confluence Park”.
http://www.laforum.org/forum_issue_5_parks/confluence_park_los_angeles_case_study_by_jennifer_price
However, I am sure that is a long way off.
Good coverage, Joe. Here’s the Arroyo Seco Foundation account with some useful background and resources on the 112 year history of the plans for an Arroyo Seco bikeway: http://www.arroyoseco.org/bikepath2010.htm
[…] their case outside. Speaking of Metro, they have funding available for a feasible new bike path along the lower Arroyo Seco. C.I.C.L.E. brings the celebrated Tour de Fat bike and beer fest — sponsored by the maker of my […]
whoo hoo! It’s so great to see bits of info from so many of us in the report! Can’t wait for the meeting next week. Thanks for posting notes Joe