L.A. River

New project aims to close L.A. River bike path gap in the Valley

From Urbanize.city

By Steven Sharp

An initial study published by the City of Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering details plans to close a gap on the L.A. River bike path in the San Fernando Valley.

The project, officially known as the Los Angeles River Bikeway and Greenway Project-Vanalden Avenue to Balboa Boulevard, would span a roughly 2.9-mile corridor between the Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area in the east and the Reseda community in the west, connecting the existing Balboa Boulevard bike path to the L.A. River bike path at Vanalden Avenue.  In addition to adding a new multi-use trail flanking the concrete-encased waterway, plans also call for the addition of new parks, roundabouts, and bike lanes, crosswalks, and other infrastructure to surrounding neighborhoods.

Per the initial study, the new bike trail would be mostly segregated from cross-traffic, with new undercrossings proposed at Wilbur Avenue, Reseda Boulevard, Victory Boulevard, Lindley Avenue, White Oak Avenue, and the G Line busway’s right-of-way.  The notable exception is at White Oak Avenue, where the path would switch from the north bank of the river to the south bank, with cyclists making the change via a proposed protected bike lane between Victory Boulevard in the north and the G Line right-of-way to the south.

 

Image courtesy of : Map of the Balboa-Vanalden segment of the L.A. River bike path Gruen Associates

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A bright orange L.A. River bridge will soon link Cypress Park and Elysian Valley

From TheEastSiderLA.com

By Barry Lank

The new Taylor Yard Bridge just received its first coat of paint – a striking shade of orange – and is about 75% done, according to SPF:Architects, which designed the project.

Built by the city of L.A.’s Bureau of Engineering, the 400-foot-long pedestrian bridge is scheduled to be complete in June, when it will connect Elysian Valley and Cypress Park.

According to an estimate from last year, the price tag on the bridge is $18 million, paid for by Metro. The original estimate in 2014 was between $5.3 million and $8 million. The increase has been blamed on rising construction costs rather than any changes in design.

The bridge uses light structural elements of tube steel, wide flange steel, and steel rods, according to a statement from SPF:architects. It is designed to “float” within a level box truss structure, and slopes to meet the different elevations of the banks, SPF:architects’ statement said.

The bridge is one of three new spans that have been constructed over the river recently for pedestrians, bicyclists and, in part, equestrians. The other two projects are the Red Car Bridge and the North Atwater MultiModal Bridge

 

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