Streets for All is shepherding an ambitious collaborative study to plan extending the Ballona Creek walk/bike path a couple miles inland from its current Culver City terminus.
The popular westside Ballona path currently extends about seven miles from Syd Kronenthal Park in Culver City to the Pacific Ocean, at Marina Del Rey. Though Ballona is largely a concrete lined flood control channel, there is work afoot to make the waterway more welcoming and a bit more natural. Recent improvements have included new small parks (one example), landscaping, improved access points, and public art.
For a couple years, the mobility advocacy organization Streets for All has been campaigning to extend the path two additional miles - through the remainder of Culver City and into Los Angeles City's South L.A. neighborhoods: Baldwin Hills and West Adams.
In order to lay the groundwork for cities to seek bike/walk project funding (most likely from the state's Active Transportation Program - ATP), Streets for All is planning to do a multi-jurisdiction feasibility study. Earlier this week, the Culver City City Council approved contributing $100,000 for their portion of the study. L.A. City Councilmember Heather Hutt approved $150,000 toward the study; the city of Los Angeles portion of the facility would go through her Council District 10. Streets for All anticipates working with the Baldwin Hills Conservancy and L.A. County Supervisor Holly Mitchell to secure the remainder of the funds.
The easiest parts of the Ballona path are already built. Though there is some unused creekside right-of-way available along some stretches of the upper part of the creek, much of it is broken up by wide streets and by the 10 Freeway. Extending the path would take extensive collaboration between the two cities, LADWP, Caltrans, the County Flood Control District, the Army Corps of Engineers, and other entities.
Streets for All has already been working with SWA Group, a landscape architecture, planning and urban design firm. SWA has already developed preliminary routing concepts - see above. Also check out SFA renderings below. There are more images and more information on Ballona path plans at the Finish the Creek website.
