LA Mayor releases 2010 Bicycle Plan

This Friday, Los Angeles City Mayor Villaraigosa released the 2010 Bicycle Plan, the latest major milestone in putting the city’s Measure R funds to work. By designating over 1600 miles of bicycle lanes throughout Los Angeles, the plan is designed to promote biking as a sustainable means of transit. The new bicycle system, composed of three main bikeway networks, will increase access to city bikeways for Angelenos, the majority of whom will be able to locate a major bikeway less than one mile from home.

The plan is set to expand the city’s existing bicycle infrastructure, which, compared to the well-planned systems of other major metropolitan regions, isn’t too impressive. A city of 464 square miles and 6,500 miles of roadways, LA has only 378 miles of bikeways, including a total of 64 miles of bike paths, 186 miles of bike lanes, and 124 miles of bike routes. And of those existing bikeways, very few are actually connected. The new framework establishes three new bikeway
networks: the Backbone, the Neighborhood Network, and the Green Network.

The Backbone Network – Composed primarily of bike lanes, the Backbone will enable access to major employment centers, transit stops, and retail. The Backbone is expected to be used initially by experienced riders who are comfortable riding close to moderate to heavy traffic volumes.
The Neighborhood Network – Bike-Friendly streets will feature low traffic volumes and slower speeds, allowing access to bikers of all experience levels.
The Green Network – Enhances access, through bike paths and shared-use paths, to the City’s green open spaces, like the LA River. Multiple types of riders, including experienced or recreational cyclists, along with beginning bikers, will we able to ride long unencumbered distances without fear of proximity to vehicular traffic.

According to the 2010 Plan,

Both the Neighborhood Network and the Backbone represent a rethinking of the City’s streets as more than conduits for moving motor vehicle traffic. Streets are our most abundant open spaces, and the Backbone and Neighborhood Networks provide the opportunity to enhance the function of these streets for bicyclists and pedestrians by making them more civilized open space.

The 2010 Plan includes a commitment to build at least 40 miles of bikeways per year, four times greater than the previous average.

Leading the Bicycle Implementation Team are the City’s Department of Transportation (Michelle Mowery) and Department of City Planning (Claire Bowin).

About the Author

Erin Brodwin

Erin Brodwin is a freelance multimedia journalist specializing in urban and environmental reporting. She currently works for the NYCity News Service, a student-powered initiative of the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism. A Southern California transplant to New York City, Erin has worked as a Student Director of the Student Sustainability Center at the University of California, San Diego, where she was instrumental in writing policy which made UCSD one of the first Fair Trade Certified campuses in the nation. Erin’s eye for design, her background in critical race and gender studies, and her passion for all things sustainable has taken her to places like the City of Los Angeles Workforce Investment Board, where she lead their Communications division, and Goodwill Industries International, where she worked as a grant writer and provided vocational services to low-income residents of East Los Angeles. Erin speaks English and Spanish and has lived and studied in Southern California, Morelia, Mexico, Tarragona, Spain, and Salvador, Brazil. She currently resides in New York City. You can view her portfolio (although it's still a work-in-progress!) at erinbrodwin.journalism.cuny.edu

Transportation