Eyes On The Street: Newly Protected Bike Lanes on Venice Boulevard

Newly protected Venice Boulevard bike lane - photos by Joe Linton/Streetsblog
Newly protected Venice Boulevard bike lane - photos by Joe Linton/Streetsblog
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The L.A. City Transportation Department (LADOT) recently took advantage of resurfacing to upgrade 0.7 miles of existing Venice Boulevard bike lanes. In Mid-City, just north of Culver City, from La Cienega Boulevard to National Boulevard, LADOT upgraded formerly unprotected lanes to make them parking-protected.

New protected bike lanes on Venice Boulevard
Newly parking protected bike lanes on Venice Boulevard in Mid-City
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The newly protected Venice Boulevard lanes are in the city of Los Angeles, adjacent to Culver City

The parking-protection was added without removing any travel lanes; on-street parking appears to have been reduced slightly, but remains plentiful in this stretch.

The upgrades stop a block short of a protected connection to Culver City Metro E Line Station and the Expo Line bike path. LADOT is planning to make that connection soon – extending the protection several miles further west to Lincoln Boulevard, and adding new bus-only lanes on Venice Boulevard – as part of a project expected to be implemented this winter.

Newly protected bike lane on Venice Boulevard
Newly protected bike lane on Venice Boulevard near La Cienega Boulevard
New parking-protected bike lane on Venice Boulevard
New parking-protected bike lane on Venice Boulevard

In addition to the planned extension westward, to the east there are several “low hanging fruit” Venice Boulevard locations where existing unprotected lanes could be easily upgraded with no lane removal and no (or minimal) parking removal. These include from the 10 Freeway to around Genesee Avenue, from Cochran Avenue to La Brea Avenue, and eastbound from La Brea to Crenshaw Boulevard.

East of the newly-protected lane there are several stretches of Venice that could easily accommodate protected bike lanes. The eastbound area in front to the large LADWP facility (just east of the 10 Freeway - between Cadillac Avenue and Genesee Avenue) has room enough for a two-way protected lane, perhaps as part of an early phase of extending the Ballona Creek bike path.
East of the newly protected lane, there are several stretches of Venice Boulevard that could easily accommodate protected bike lanes. The eastbound area pictured, located in front of the large LADWP facility (just east of the 10 Freeway, between Cadillac Avenue and Genesee Avenue), has room enough for a two-way protected lane, perhaps as part of an early phase of extending the Ballona Creek bike path.

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