Eyes on the Street: New Protected Bikeway in La Cañada

Last year, the city of La Cañada Flintridge completed its Foothill Link Bikeway and Pedestrian Greenbelt Project, which includes a half-mile of protected bikeway along Foothill Boulevard between La Canada Plaza Road and Hillard Avenue.

The project upgraded the existing eastbound bike lane (basic striped unprotected) to a curb-level eastbound bike path. The project also includes landscaping, signal work, lighting, resurfacing, a landscaped median, and removed some (not heavily used) parking spaces on the westbound side.

This part of Foothill Boulevard, through La Cañada, does not see large numbers of cyclists. Foothill itself is hilly, but it's one of the less steep streets in a very hilly suburban area, with many streets too steep for all but the most strong and intrepid cyclists (and, more recently, e-bike riders).

Streetsblog visited the site last week and observed a couple of cyclists using the new bikeway, plus quite a few pedestrians there.

A couple of other noteworthy bike and pedestrian safety upgrades are in the works in that same area. Earlier this year, L.A. County Department of Public Works, Glendale, and La Cañada Flintridge hosted community input events for a Foothill Boulevard Active Transportation Plan. About a mile to the east, Caltrans is working with the city and county to plan possible safety upgrades (early designs included a new bikeway) to Angeles Crest Highway. As readers might expect, these safety projects have met some criticism from suburban drivers not inclined to changes that might slow speeds and/or remove parking.