First Segment of Lighted Bike Path to Downtown Opens

The first lighted bike path in Los Angeles was formally opened Monday as Mayor Richard Riordan joined nearly 150 other cyclists by riding on the three-mile stretch adjacent to the Los Angeles River near Griffith Park.

Known as the Los Angeles River Bike Path Project, the route is the first phase of a plan to provide bike riders with a path from downtown to Canoga Park. The section unveiled Monday runs from Los Feliz Boulevard along the Golden State Freeway to the northern entrance of Griffith Park at Riverside Drive.

“It was really nice, a really scenic view,” said Marcia Hubbard, a saleswoman and mechanic at Woody’s Bicycle World in Atwater Village.

In addition, the Bureau of Street Lighting is using the path to test 10 lighting systems, one of which will be selected to illuminate the entire path, a Riordan spokeswoman said.

Although riders were pleased with the opening of this stretch of bike path, some were eager to have the lanes to downtown available. But that stretch is not expected to be completed for at least three years.

“They need to hurry up and get the one going to downtown open,” said Hubbard, who was among the group who pedaled with the mayor. “There is a lot of traffic downtown, and it would be excellent to get it open as soon as possible.”