During two community meetings on June 30, city officials presented local residents with designs to build a nearly 9.5-mile north-to-south bike route that would extend from 3rd Street in downtown to the northern boundary of the city.
The first meeting was conducted at the Expo Arts Center in Bixby Knolls, and the second meeting took place at 8th District Councilmember Al Austin’s office.
Plans call for creating a “bike boulevard,” similar to the one installed nearly six years ago on Vista Street in Belmont Heights, that would start along Daisy Avenue in the Wrigley neighborhood, cut over to Linden Avenue through Bixby Knolls and end on Myrtle Avenue in north Long Beach.
During the second community meeting, which drew a crowd of about a dozen residents, Nate Baird, the city’s mobility coordinator, gave a Powerpoint presentation on the bike corridor project that he said is expected to cost nearly $2 million, funded through state and federal “safe routes to school” grants.
Once designs are finalized in coming months, construction on the bike project is expected to begin within about a year, Baird said, adding that funding has already been secured and the main goal of the city is to get consensus from local residents and constituents.
The project comes as the City has rolled out its bike-share program that launched earlier this year with an initial 100 rental bikes at 10 stations.
The City has also moved forward with expanded and redesigned bike lanes, including a new three-mile bike path on the beach and a new 8.5-mile bike lane on Pacific Avenue, connecting Ocean Boulevard to Del Amo Boulevard.
Bike boulevards, which include circular medians called roundabouts and traffic circles designed to slow automobile traffic to create a safe passage for pedestrians and bicyclists, provide a sufficient alternative to protected bike lanes or cycle tracks, which require the removal of parking spaces, he said.
Asked whether the bike boulevard would require the removal of parking spaces, Baird said the only changes anticipated are that red curbs will likely be extended at some of the traffic-circle intersections, possibly eliminating about one and a half parking spaces.
He noted that the City is focusing on creating more bicycle infrastructure, such as the beach path, cycle tracks and bike boulevards, that provide a safe and “comfortable” route for all ages, ranging from 8 to 80 years old, unlike standard bike lanes that don’t provide as much protection. In addition, Baird said bike boulevards are designed to encourage residents to experience nearby neighborhoods.
“The project really is about connecting neighborhoods and local destinations,” he said. “We’re finding that more and more people are interested in bike lanes that serve not just the confident rider but also children and those who are older and slower.”
The goal of the bike boulevard is to encourage bicyclists to use residential neighborhood streets that have a low volume of automobile traffic. Baird added that increasing the number of bicyclists on neighborhood streets also helps calm traffic. He pointed out that, once the traffic circles are installed, left turns will be prohibited at various intersections along the route.
City officials also have confirmed that the traffic circles and roundabouts have been designed to allow easy passage for emergency vehicles, which was an issue when the Vista Street Bike Boulevard was first installed.
Busier streets, such as Atlantic Avenue and Long Beach Boulevard, would require protected bike lanes or cycle tracks— a proposal that would require more traffic planning and could be a possibility in the future, Baird said.
In addition, he pointed out that the Daisy Avenue bike boulevard will provide a safe alternative to the Los Angeles River bike path, which fails to provide access to key destinations in the city.
“The LA River is really a great facility but really doesn’t connect to local destinations,” Baird said.
The City will continue to work on its bike master plan, he said, adding that suggestions from residents and stakeholders on possible mitigation measures to alleviate traffic impacts to nearby streets are encouraged.
More Information
bikelongbeach.org
