Skip to Content
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Log In
bicycle lanes

Eyes on the Street: New Green Bike Lane Merge Zones on Vineland Avenue

4:12 PM PST on March 2, 2016

New green bike lane merge zones on Vineland Avenue just south of the 134 Freeway. All photos: Joe Linton/Streetsblog L.A.
New green merge zones on Vineland Avenue at the 134/170 Freeways. All photos: Joe Linton/Streetsblog L.A.

The Vineland Avenue bike lanes got a little greener this week. The L.A. Department of Transportation (LADOT) gave several merge zones a coat of "fresh Kermit."

The Vineland Avenue bike lanes run from Ventura Boulevard to Burbank Boulevard in the southeast San Fernando Valley neighborhoods of Studio City, North Hollywood, and Toluca Lake - just east of the North Hollywood Red Line Station. There have been some issues with these lanes in the past, especially in the freeway-infested area where the 101, 134, and 170 Freeways intersect. In a 6-block stretch, between Aqua Vista Street and Hortense Street, the Vineland lanes cross two freeway on-ramps and two freeway off-ramps, with three additional freeway ramps just a block or two away on Moorpark Street and Riverside Drive. Drivers merge into the bike lane and drive in it for blocks before turning; this results in clogging the bike lane, generally at commute hours.

According to Streetsblog reader Melissa Federowicz, LADOT had recently experimented, apparently unsuccessfully, with installing plastic bollards. This week the bollards came out and green paint went in. 

The green merge zones are all intermittent treatments in areas where drivers merge to the right to get on to freeways, either at freeway on-ramps or at streets leading to nearby ramps.

Vineland bike lane southbound immediately north of the 101 Freeway
Vineland bike lane southbound immediately north of the 101 Freeway
xxx
Vineland bike lane intermittent green merge zone at Moorpark Street
xxx
The same Vineland green bike lane merge zone view north from Moorpark Street

Even with the bike lanes and merge zones, some cyclists preferred to avoid the car traffic and ride on the sidewalk.

xxx
Sidewalk cyclist headed north on Vineland at Riverside Drive

The heavily car-trafficked area remains generally unfriendly to pedestrians and cyclists.

xxx
Pedestrian crossing mid-block between Riverside and Moorpark
xxx
Despite a removed crosswalk leg, pedestrian and cyclist crossing Vineland at Moorpark. This four-way intersection only has three crosswalks; the north crosswalk leg has been erased, presumably to make way for more drivers turning left from eastbound Moorpark onto northbound Vineland.

Even with the very visible green markings, many cars still merge right early, driving more than a block in the bike lane before turning right.

xxx
Driver taking the green Vineland bike lane at Landale Street, a full block before turning right at Riverside Drive
Vineland
This driver is legally merging at the start of the dashed-green merge zone

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog Los Angeles

Metro September 2023 Board Committee Round-Up: C Line, 91 Freeway Widening, and More

Transit ridership and freeway funding are up. $14 million for MicroTransit was postponed. South Bay C Line extension draws both controversy and support. Law enforcement, Taylor Swift, bus lanes, and more!

September 23, 2023

Input Meetings Starting This Weekend for Ballona Creek “Finish the Creek” Extension Study

Learn more and give your ideas for extending the Ballona Creek bike/walk path upstream through Culver City and into Mid-City Los Angeles

September 21, 2023

Guest Opinion: Metro Should Treat Walk and Bike Projects with the Respect They Deserve

Prioritizing true first mile/last mile infrastructure isn’t somehow optional; it’s how your customers get to and from the transit stations.

September 21, 2023
See all posts