City Breaks Ground on West Valley River Bike Path
Councilman Dennis Zine, far left, leads a team of activists and city staff breaking ground on a new bike path. Photo: LA Streetsblog/Flickr
City Councilman Dennis Zine served as master of ceremonies at the groundbreaking for the West Valley Los Angeles River Bike Path yesterday. Construction has begun on this first phase of the path, a 2.2 mile stretch that extends from Vanalden Avenue to Corbin Avenue. The path won’t just be a stretch of concrete, but will also have some landscaping, access some mini-parks and have overhead lighting.
The total cost of the 2.2 mile path? $7 million.
To read Joe Linton's ongoing coverage of this issue, click on his picture.
But, as Joe Linton points out at Creek Freak, because of all the amenities the path is more like a 2.2 mile linear park than a bike path. Over $5 million of the budget comes from federal stimulus funds and the rest comes from a state grant program programmed for the expansion of open space.
There are 32 miles of L.A. River embankments in the City of Los Angeles, and currently only eight miles have adjacent bike paths, so this is a significant investment by the city in improving access to the river. Future phases of the River Path are funded, but the construction timelines are unclear. Read more…
