Officials Hope Bikeway Will Boost Revitalization Effort

Culver City is putting the finishing touches on a landscaped bikeway and pedestrian path that winds down the middle of Culver Boulevard--a route that officials said will enhance efforts to revitalize the downtown area.

The city spent $500,000 in state and federal transportation grants to transform the abandoned median into a three-quarter-mile bike and walking path. Bike lockers were installed at bus stops along Culver Boulevard in an effort to encourage people to leave their cars at home and use alternative forms of transportation.

City staff members said the bikeway is part of a larger push to transform the downtown area into a pedestrian-oriented center. The Culver City Redevelopment Agency has sponsored a downtown landscape project, facade improvements, new parking and a farmers market.

“I think [the bikeway] is an incredible change,” said Pamela Keys, associate engineer for the city. “We’ve gotten calls from people who commute on the [nearby San Diego Freeway] who’ve noticed it. Eventually, it will be part of a thriving system people will use for biking and walking.”

The Los Angeles Department of Transportation is working on a design to continue the bikeway where it stops at Sawtelle Boulevard, extending it into Los Angeles for 1.4 miles, where it will merge into the Ballona Creek bike path.

The project, at an estimated cost of $1.7 million, is expected to start in the fall and will mirror aspects of the Culver City bikeway.

“We’re really hoping that people will use bicycles as a form of transportation to commute to and from school or work,” said Pauline Chan, transportation engineer for Los Angeles.