The Los Angeles City Council Wednesday will consider approving a $60 million contract with Metro for the design and construction of the Los Angeles River Valley Bike Path Project, which includes the development of approximately 13 miles of a new bike path and greenway.
The city’s Board of Public Works is requesting to accept funds from Metro, allowing the city to move forward with the project along the Los Angeles River in the San Fernando Valley. The bike path project would fill in gaps in the Valley River bike path between Vanalden Avenue to the west and Forest Lawn Drive/Zoo Drive to the east, spanning across Council District 2, 3, 4 and 6.
Improvements to the bike path will also include pedestrian walking paths, decorative fencing and gates, roadway crossings, pet waste stations, drinking fountains, lighting, operational and wayfinding signage, site furnishing, educational elements, stormwater runoff and green landscaping and irrigation.
According to a report, the 12-foot-wide asphalt bike path will be designed per state standards and in accordance with the city’s 2007 Los Angeles River Revitalization Master Plan, 2010’s Bicycle Plan and the 2014 Los Angeles Department of Transportation’s Great Streets Strategic Plan.
“The completion of the LA River trail system will improve regional livability by providing expanded active transportation options with new access to transit, homes, schools, jobs, nature, recreation and other community-servicing amenities,” the report reads.
In December 2022, Metro provided the city with a draft funding agreement for the design and construction of the project. Metro will provide $60 million of Measure M monies as matching funds to complete the project.
The agreement includes a provision allowing Metro to make adjustments taking into consideration future inflation related to cost of the design and construction of the project. The total cost of the project is estimated at $170 million, but may increase upwards of $200 million.
The city would be responsible for providing the remaining amount of funding to complete the project, which could potentially be $140 million, according to the report.
The city has secured funding, or will be provided funding through grant and funding agreements, which includes the following:
— Approximately $60 million from Metro via Measure M;
— Approximately $3 million from LA County funds;
— $52.9 million from state funds provided by the Active Transportation Program;
— $6.7 million of Measure M of local returns; and
— $3 million from various city funds
The funding shortfall would be addressed in the future through city funds, and other federal and state grant funds.