County unveils draft bike plan for unincorporated areas

It’s been quite a week for alternative transportation, first the high speed rail news and now this: Los Angeles County has just released a draft of its bicycle plan for the unincorporated communities of Los Angeles, including the Santa Clarita Valley (the yellow part above).

The plan highlights just how deficient bicycling infrastructure is in unincorporated SCV and lists several projects from Castaic to Newhall and west to Ventura County that would go a long way towards solving that deficiency.

Currently there are only 3.3 miles of bicycle lanes in unincorporated SCV. If adopted and built-out completely, the County’s bike plan would add 45 miles of Class I and Class II bike lanes and 101 more miles of Class III Bike Routes in unincorporated SCV.

Among the more exciting aspects of the plan: a Class II bike lane from Castaic to the Newhall Pass along the Old Road (13 miles), a Class I grade-separated bike path along Castaic Creek in Castaic (5.5 miles), and a Class I grade-separated bike path near Highway 126 all the way to the Ventura County line (10.2 miles), which would be a very positive step forward in bike-path-to-the-sea dream some of us cyclists have had.

The 100+ miles of Class III routes aren’t as exciting because they are merely lines on a map. Few or no alterations to roads are permitted (save for signage), and cyclists are expected to ride in the shoulder or in the traffic lane if that is not possible. The plan puts Class III routes on some of the more popular roads outside of town, including Bouquet Canyon and Sierra Highway.

The plan says that, where possible, it is “essential” that the County’s proposed lanes and routes link up to the City of Santa Clarita’s bike paths and lanes. That shouldn’t be too hard in some areas, but much of the City’s paths & lanes don’t lead to major roads that go out of the city, especially on the west side of town (like McBean, Magic Mountain, Valencia Blvd). One exception: Linking the Newhall Ranch Road bike path with the proposed Santa Clara river path  would be a very positive development  that would enable cyclists to ride safely over the treacherous 126/I-5 interchange.

Of course just because the county has a plan to add 45 miles of paths and lanes to the SCV doesn’t mean it’s going to happen. Our proposed routes are weighed against proposals for the other 1.1 million people who live in unincorporated LA County. Further down in the document, you’ll find that only one lane proposal in the SCV is prioritized as one of the top 17 projects County-wide. That would be a 3.5 mile lane on Pico Canyon Road, a simple stripe from the Old Road to Whispering Oak Drive costing about $45,000.

But nothing is set in stone yet and you can make a difference. The County developed this plan from outreach meetings last year (you can read our report here), and it’s going to hold another meeting on Monday, April 4, 2011 at the William S. Hart Hall in Hart Park to discuss the draft plan in our area. So go download the plan, read the parts about the SCV, and come to Hart Park next month and let’s see if we can convince the County we deserve some priority!