Severin Martinez, an Eagle Rock bicycling and walking activist who goes by the name "WalkEagleRock" on his Bipediality blog, spent 20 minutes on Monday afternoon with a video camera on the corner of York Boulevard and Avenue 50.
What did he find? In the video above, dozens of cyclists can be seen pedaling through the area's bike lanes, parking at the bike corral in front of Café de Leche and popping into business along the boulevard.
If the video is any indication, bike lanes have been a boon for bicyclists and business owners in Northeast L.A.
In a previous post on Bipediality, Martinez indicates that more bike lanes could be coming soon:
The Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) is aggressively installing bicycle infrastructure at a pace unprecedented in the department’s history with almost 40 miles of bike lanes installed this fiscal year!
And many more bike lanes are on the way! In Northeast L.A., rumor has it that bike lanes will soon be coming to Eagle Rock Boulevard north of Westdale and to York Boulevard east of Avenue 54. The LADOT is also studying potential bike lanes on Colorado Boulevard and North Figueroa. This is great news, especially as a visible portion of travel around the neighborhood is by bicycle.
Martinez indicates that there are many other streets in Highland Park that are ripe for bike lanes.
Mesa Avenue (~ 60ft wide) – from York Boulevard to Avenue 61 (0.3 miles)
- Would connect to bike lanes planned for York Boulevard
Piedmont Avenue (~ 55ft wide) – from Avenue 61 to Avenue 58 (0.2 miles)
Delevan Drive and Wawona Street (~50 and 55 ft)– from York Boulevard to Avenue 42 (0.2 miles)
- Would connect with facility planned for York Boulevard. Would provide bike lanes to Delevan Drive Elementary.
Stratford Road (~40 ft wide) – from Campus Road to Avenue 55 (0.7 miles)
Avenue 49 (~40 ft wide) – from Stratford Road to Range View Avenue (0.05 miles)
- Would connect to bicycle facilities planned for Stratford Road
Via Marisol (~ 60 ft wide) – from Monterey Road to Arroyo Seco Bike Path (0.3 miles)
- Would connect to existing bike lanes on Via Marisol east of Monterey Road. Would connect to Arroyo Seco Bike Path
Projects That Can Be Implemented and Are in the LA Bike Plan
York Boulevard (~40 ft wide) – from Avenue 42 to Delevan Drive ( 0.1 miles)
- Included in the Bike Plan’s neighborhood network. Would provide connection to near by Delevan Drive Elementary
Monterey Road (~ 55ft wide) – from Lomitas Drive/ South Pasadena border to Avenue 60 (0.4 miles)
San Pascual Avenue (~ 40 and 50 ft wide) – from York Boulevard to Comet Street (0.7 miles)
Avenue 66 (~ 50 and 55ft wide) – from York Boulevard to Meridian Street (0.5 miles)
In all, implementing these facilities could provide almost 5 miles of bike lanes total. And a surprising number of these potential bike lane projects would connect to existing or planned bicycle facilities.
Click here to see a map of the potential bike lanes made by Martinez.
Click the following links to read some of Martinez's Patch blogs:
• Bicycle-Friendly Alternative to Colorado Boulevard.
• Call to Action After a Decade of Crashes on Colorado.
• Crashes Along Colorado Boulevard—Some Preliminary Findings.
