Skip to Content
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Log In
Metro

Memo to Metro CEO Art Leahy: They’re Called Bicycle Boulevards

Fourth Street Bicycle Boulevard design concept for 4th Street at Catalina Street in Koreatown, Los Angeles. Image: Aaron Kuehn

At today's Metro Sustainability Committee, Metro CEO Art Leahy mentioned that he had visited Portland, Oregon. While there, he saw an "interesting treatment" for low volume streets making them better for bicycling. Leahy stated that cars hadn't been removed from the streets, but that they were diverted in some places. He said that these low volume streets carry hundreds of bicyclists every day.

Congratulations, CEO Leahy, you discovered Portland's Bicycle Boulevards.

Get more acquainted with them via this short Streetfilms documentary.

Though they're well-loved and well-used, even cycling communities are confused on what to call these.

City of Long Beach's Vista Bicycle Boulevard. photo Drew Reed/Streetsblog LA
City of Long Beach's Vista Bicycle Boulevard. photo Drew Reed/Streetsblog LA

There are a bunch of names for this sort of facility. Portland initially called them Bicycle Boulevards. When it was clear that that name didn't really convey that these streets are also great for walking and more, Portland now calls them Neighborhood Greenways. Bicycle Boulevards have been implemented all over - Palo Alto, Berkeley (credited with coining the term Bicycle Boulevard), San Luis Obispo, Long Beach, even Los Angeles (which calls them "Bicycle Friendly Streets") and, soon, Santa Monica will be implementing the Michigan Avenue Neighborhood Greenway (MANGo.)

These sorts of facilities would be great for solving Metro's first/last mile puzzle. If only there were a consistent regional funding source for getting them implemented around here...

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog Los Angeles

Eyes on the Street: Road Widening in Downtown L.A.

Zombie road widening - that would be illegal for California cities to require today - still plagues downtown L.A.

March 26, 2025

Is the City’s Approach to Measure HLA Resulting in Worse Pavement Conditions on Some Streets?

The city says "Measure HLA has not affected overall citywide [pavement condition]" but some streets - ones the city put repaving on hold for HLA - seem to have a lot of potholes

March 25, 2025

Eyes on the Street – Big Dalton Bike/Walk Path is Now Open

Not the same as the one in Baldwin Park, this multi-use path (formerly the Vincent bikeway) traverses Irwindale, Covina, Azusa, and unincorporated parts between.

March 25, 2025
See all posts