The G Line Bikeway is a cycle route in

Los Angeles County, California Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the List of the most populous counties in the United States, most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, ...

, that runs for and “spans the lengths of the

San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated ar ...

’s major communities” from Chatsworth to

Valley Glen Valley Glen is a neighborhood in southeastern section of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles, California. Once part of Van Nuys and North Hollywood, it became a separate neighborhood in 1998. Valley Glen is home to Los Angeles Valley College an ...

, “connecting such places as

Pierce College Pierce College may refer to: * Pierce College (Washington) * Los Angeles Pierce College ** Pierce College station See also * Peirce College * Franklin Pierce University Franklin Pierce University is a private university in Rindge, New Hampshi ...

, the

Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area The Sepulveda Dam is a project of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers designed to withhold winter flood waters along the Los Angeles River. Completed in 1941, at a cost of $6,650,561 (), it is located south of center in the San Fernando Valley, appr ...

, the Van Nuys Government Center and

Valley College Valley College might refer to: * Valley College station, a stop on a bus-rapid transit line in Los Angeles * Los Angeles Valley College Los Angeles Valley College (LAVC) is a public community college in Los Angeles, California. It is part of t ...

.” The G Line Bikeway's “seventeen-point-nine miles of exclusive, smooth, and lush active mobility glory” runs alongside the G Line

bus rapid transit Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...

route. The G Line Bikeway is one of two major bicycle routes in Los Angeles that share dedicated rights-of-way with

public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...

, the other being the Expo Bike Path in west L.A. The Class I off-street bike path section of the Bikeway runs from

Chatsworth station Chatsworth station (also known as Chatsworth Transportation Center) is an intermodal passenger transport station in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Chatsworth, California, United States. It is served by Amtrak intercity rail service, Metrolink ...

to just east of

Valley College station Valley College station is a station on the G Line (Los Angeles Metro), G Line of the Los Angeles Metro Busway system. It is named after the adjacent Los Angeles Valley College. The station is in the Valley Glen, Los Angeles, Valley Glen distric ...

. The section on Chandler Boulevard is a Class II on-street bike lane (beginning on the west between

Coldwater Canyon Avenue Coldwater Canyon Avenue (designated as Coldwater Canyon Drive south of Mulholland Drive) is a street, primarily within the City of Los Angeles, in Los Angeles County, California. It runs from North Beverly Drive at Coldwater Canyon Park in Bever ...

and Fulton Avenue, near the Ethel Avenue crossing, and continuing to

North Hollywood station North Hollywood station is a combined rapid transit (known locally as a subway) and bus rapid transit (BRT) station in the Los Angeles County Metro Rail, Los Angeles Metro Rail and Los Angeles Metro Busway, Metro Busway systems. It is the northw ...

on the east).

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

cycling advocates named the G Line Bikeway one of the “six best places to bike in L.A.” One guide to Los Angeles cycling notes, “While the path provides a traffic-free, safe ride, users have to stop when crossing streets that run perpendicular to it. For cyclists, stopping every so often reduces their overall ability to maintain the flow of an uninterrupted ride. That’s why the Orange Line Bicycle Path is suitable for casual, recreational riding ore so thanhardcore cycling or training.” At Chatsworth station, the bikeway connects to the

Browns Creek Bike Path Browns Creek Bike Path is a Class I bike path that is “tucked away from the surrounding hustle and bustle” of the San Fernando Valley, “hugging the side” of the Browns Canyon Wash. The path begins at Lassen Street, just east of Chats ...

. The bike path also connects readily to the bike paths of the

Sepulveda Dam Recreation Area The Sepulveda Dam is a project of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers designed to withhold winter flood waters along the Los Angeles River. Completed in 1941, at a cost of $6,650,561 (), it is located south of center in the San Fernando Valley, appr ...

. Because of the long reach of the extended path, this route has been called a “San Fernando Valley commuter corridor” and “the crown jewel of San Fernando Valley bike infrastructure.”

History

The path (“decorated with native plants and public art”) was opened in 2005 with a route between Warner Center and North Hollywood. The county added in 2012 “between Canoga station and the Chatsworth train station.” The construction project included bioswales to reduce water pollution from

urban runoff Urban runoff is surface runoff of rainwater, landscape irrigation, and car washing created by urbanization. Impervious surfaces (roads, parking lots and sidewalks) are constructed during land development. During rain , storms and other precipit ...

and “recycled construction debris from the 405 expansion project “crushed and used as an underground base.”

Access

According to the website of

County Supervisor A board of supervisors is a governmental body that oversees the operation of county government in the U.S. states of Arizona, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as 16 counties in New York. There are equivalent agenc ...

Zev Yaroslavsky, “Most of the wide, asphalt-surfaced path has separate, dedicated lanes for bicyclists and pedestrians. Still, there are some 'multiuse' areas in which walkers and cyclists will share space. Wider-than-usual curb ramps also will allow cyclists and pedestrians to get on and off the path more easily, especially when it’s crowded.” For those wishing to transfer from the bike path to the bus and vice versa, “G (Orange) Line buses pretty much all hold three bikes, though racks fill quickly, so it’s easiest to board at the ends of the line in North Hollywood or Chatsworth.” A 2015 study of “cycling transit users” (CTUs) of the G Line found: “(1) CTUs are more likely to be stranded during weekday nights due to the proximity to three major colleges; on weekends, CTUs are more likely to be stranded in the mornings; (2) Metro’s policy that increased evening service during 2013 successfully decreased the number of stranded cyclists; and (3) when the racks are two-thirds full, approximately 20 percent of buses will strand at least one cyclist.” Dedicated ”park and ride” parking lots are available at , Sherman Way, , , , , , and stations. There are bike racks at every G Line stop along with bike lockers available for rent.

Hazards

There is a “dangerous blind curve on the east end of the Canoga Avenue station.” Transient encampments and overgrown landscaping may intermittently obstruct the path.

Improvements

Overpass bridges for the bike/pedestrian path are being built at the Sepulveda Boulevard and

Van Nuys Boulevard Van Nuys Boulevard is a major north-south arterial road that runs through the central San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles County, California. The boulevard was notable for its cruising lifestyle that was prevalent in the 1960s and 1970s, which w ...

crossings. Scheduled completion date is 2025. This improvement is on the Twenty-Eight by ‘28 project list in anticipation of the

2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles The 2028 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad, also known as Los Angeles 2028 or LA28) is an upcoming international multi-sport event scheduled to take place from July 14 to July 30, 2028, in and around Los Angeles, Cali ...

External links

Bike Travel in the SFV — The Orange Line Bike Path

labikepaths.com Orange Line Bike Path

Biking in LA: Orange Line bike path tag archive

Urbanize LA: Orange Line

VIDEOS

STREETFILMS: L.A.’s Orange Line bus rapid transit plus bike path!

Orange Line Bike Path Warner Center to Chatsworth
(17 min)
Metro Orange bike path westbound
(14 min)

MAPS

Los Angeles Bikeway Map (Metro.net) - PDF hosted on Dropbox

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orange Line Bikeway Bike paths in Los Angeles G Line (Los Angeles Metro) Rail trails in California Parks in Los Angeles Parks in the San Fernando Valley Transportation in the San Fernando Valley Canoga Park, Los Angeles Lake Balboa, Los Angeles North Hollywood, Los Angeles Tarzana, Los Angeles Van Nuys, Los Angeles Winnetka, Los Angeles