L.A. River Bike Path From Valley to Downtown Studied

Under a plan being drafted by the Army Corps of Engineers, bicyclists would be able to use a bike path winding for about 17 miles alongside the Los Angeles River from the Sepulveda Basin to Downtown Los Angeles.

In hopes of easing traffic and expanding recreational opportunities, the corps is drafting plans for a bicycle path along the access road that borders the river, for the first time connecting the bikeways of the San Fernando Valley to Downtown, officials said Friday.

“The Los Angeles River is an ideal route for a path,” said Nancy Wedeen, a North Hollywood cycling instructor and member of the League of American Bicyclists. “We think its a good investment to improve the health and sanity of the community.”

The newly proposed bike path would hook up at Griffith Park with a seven-mile bikeway the city plans to build from the park to Downtown.

Federal officials provided $200,000 to draft the plan, and a spokeswoman for Rep. Anthony Beilenson (D-Woodland Hills) said he plans to talk with other federal and local officials about allocating additional money for construction.

“He has been very interested in doing things to rehabilitate the river,” said Beilenson’s spokeswoman, Melissa Kuckro. “We’d love to keep the bike path project going.”

A draft report and environmental study by the corps will be completed in January. It proposes a 10-mile link to the pathway running along the west side of the river, connecting with a previously approved path from Griffith Park to Elysian Park, a few blocks north of the Civic Center.

The plan will provide only a general outline of the path and will offer options for routing it under or over street crossings, freeways and other obstacles, said Juan Villalobos, project manager for the corps. The plan will also provide a cost estimate for construction, he said.

But until funding for construction is found, the corps will not launch more detailed studies, he said.

“Until we hear otherwise, or we find other funds to do more, we are not authorized to do more,” Villalobos said.

Starting at Sepulveda Boulevard near the intersection of the San Diego and Ventura freeways, the path would run east about 10 miles, connecting at Griffith Park with the seven-mile riverside path to Downtown.

City transportation officials said they are preparing to hire contractors to build the first three-mile phase at the northern end of the $5-million bike path from Griffith Park to Elysian Park.

If there are no unforeseen hitches, construction of the 12-foot-wide bike path from Griffith Park to Downtown is expected to begin in June and be completed by early 1996.

Bicycle enthusiasts have predicted that up to 2,000 bicyclists will use the path to ride to work each day, with more pedaling commuters joining in when the corps’ proposed extension is built.

A 1991 survey conducted by a commuter service company found that only two out of 500 Los Angeles County commuters rely primarily on bicycles to get to work.

But bicyclists say the number of cycling commuters is low because there are not enough paths, and most dread competing with motorists on the city’s congested and often dangerous streets.

“If there is money available we would like to see money used on bicycle transportation,” Wedeen said.

A city bicycle plan calls for doubling the current 300 miles of bike paths and lanes in the city over the next 10 to 15 years, said Michelle Mowery, the city’s bicycle coordinator. The path proposed by the corps had not previously been considered in the plan, he said.