Installation of Spring Street Bike Lanes Underway
Eric Richardson / blogdowntown
Preliminary lines mark out where a new buffered bicycle lane will be installed on Spring Street.
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — Installation is underway for Downtown's first buffered bike lane, the green ribbon that will run down Spring Street from Cesar Chavez to 9th.
As of Tuesday morning, preliminary lines mark out the future lane, which will run between curbside parking and a buffer to separate cyclists from traffic.
According to the transportation department's Bike Blog, colorization of the green lane should take place later this week. The Spring Street lane will be marked green along its entire length, rather than just at intersections and conflict spots.
Already visible on Tuesday was one issue the lane will frequently face: conflicts with filming. The block between 4th and 5th was lined by trucks for an ABC Studios shoot inside 433 S. Spring. Next to them, extended into the not-yet-active bicycle lane.
Spring Street's last big traffic flow change came in 2006, when a contraflow bus lane was removed and the street returned to true one-way operation.
Chris Loos on November 15, 2011, at 11:33AM – #1
They are able to film in NYC and other cities without completely disrupting car/bike/ped traffic, so why not here? I feel like the film industry is used to having free run of the Historic Core because it was underpopulated for so long. Now that things have changed, they're just going to have to get used to not getting what they want every time. I'd like to residents push back a bit and not just accept every inconvenience the industry foists upon us.
Simon Hartigan on November 15, 2011, at 08:23PM – #2
I love it! The outline of the future bike line is making news! This green bike lane will be a major statement towards who belongs in the street. It's a statement that we live in a community. And this bike lane makes room for the future parklets going in, which will further add to the above benefits.
pedal.there on November 16, 2011, at 07:57AM – #3
I am still unsure how the buses are going to fit into the new layout. It seems like a bad idea to have buses crossing from the traffic lanes through the bike lane to get to the curbside.
Eric Richardson (@blogdowntown) on November 16, 2011, at 11:16AM – #4
pedal.there: It's not an optimal arrangement, but Spring's bus traffic is far less than it was a few years ago. Metro moved a number of lines off the street when the contraflow lane was taken out.
The buffer space at least gives a more defined space in which those merges happen, rather than now where buses and cars are both ducking in and out.