In the two years since LADOT installed its first bike corral in front of Cafe de Leche on York Boulevard in Northeast Los Angeles, things have been quiet on the bike corral front. Yes, there were reports of Metro funding an expansion of the program, and there is that "other corral" that's part of the Sunset Triangle Plaza; but overall the "bike corral program" has been disappointing.
That's beginning to change. Last month, LADOT announced plans for another 7-10 corrals to pop up in the near future around the city. Yesterday, that promise began to become true as a corral was installed in Atwater Village at 3147 Glendale Boulevard in front of Kaldi Coffee. Streetsblogger Daveed Kapoor parked his bike there, snapped the above picture and offered a quick review.
In short, the new LADOT design, which staff confirmed will be used in the rest of the corrals, is sturdier than the one in York Boulevard. It is designed to only be accessed from the sidewalk to prevent queuing bike parkers from spilling out into the bike lane or roadway, a standard design feature in many cities.
In addition to the additional half dozen promised by LADOT, the soon to be launched People St program promises even more bike parking. Los Angeles had to wait 230 years for its first bike corral, and another two and a half to get two more; but it now appears that more and more car parking spaces are going to be opened up for bicycle use.
