Bikeways

As the darlings of both cardiologists and environmentalists, bicycles are very much a thing of the moment. But as the users of the Los Angeles region's proliferating bikeways pant their way to ecologically sound good health, few probably realize that--in Southern California terms--they are definitely pedaling back to the future. Take, for example, the first phase of the Los Angeles River Bike Path Project--L.A.'s first lighted bike path to downtown--which opened last year.

Nobody walks in L.A., as the old Missing Persons song says, but it turns out that they do bike. In fact, pedal-power advocates are enjoying unprecedented clout these days ? and shaking things up at City Hall, as demonstrated this week by the City Council's approval of a bicycle master plan that aims to quadruple the mileage of official bikeways. That may not sound like a big deal, but if the planned bike lanes and neighborhood traffic-calming measures are actually built, it would go a long way toward making L.A. a more livable city and mark one of the most lasting achievements of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's tenure.

Mission City Bikeway, a long-delayed bicycle corridor funded by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, will finally be built, San Fernando city officials said Tuesday. "A lot of people have been wondering if we were ever going to build it; we're ready and anxious to get going," said San Fernando city engineer Jerry Wedding. Plans for the mile-long path, which will run alongside MTA rail lines in the city, were approved by the MTA board of directors in July 1993.

When Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa crashed his bike on Venice Boulevard last summer, he did more than bruise his head and shatter his elbow. He became an advocate for the city's bicycling community. After he was jolted off his bike by a turning taxicab, Villaraigosa convened a bicycle summit, launched a safety campaign to educate drivers and threw his support behind the city's first CicLAvia, which closed 71/2 miles of city streets to traffic for most of a day. He also put his clout behind an ambitious bicycle master plan that is expected to be passed Tuesday by the City Council.

Nearly $1.8 million in state sales tax money will be used for seven regional bicycle trail projects, along with bikeway or sidewalk improvements in every Orange County city. The allocation of the money was approved this month by the Orange County Transportation Authority. All 31 Orange County cities and the county will split $750,000 to be used for local bicycle and sidewalk projects. The money will be distributed according to population.

The City Council on Tuesday approved the initial study of a proposed Hansen Dam bikeway, finding that the plan would not have an adverse impact on the environment. The project involves the construction of a half-mile bikeway that will connect two existing bikeways, one atop Hansen Dam and the other on Wentworth Street. A quarter-mile horse trail will also be built, parallel to the bikeway.

Transportation officials have scheduled two meetings to gather comments from cyclists and other interested citizens about the Arroyo Verdugo Regional Bikeway, which is in the final planning stages. City officials and business people from Glendale, Burbank, Pasadena, La Canada Flintridge and South Pasadena have been working for more than a year on the plan, with the goal of creating dozens of new bike paths and making traveling smoother for recreational and commuter cyclists.

Culver City is putting the finishing touches on a landscaped bikeway and pedestrian path that winds down the middle of Culver Boulevard--a route that officials said will enhance efforts to revitalize the downtown area. The city spent $500,000 in state and federal transportation grants to transform the abandoned median into a three-quarter-mile bike and walking path.

The 1989 edition of the "Existing Bikeways" map has been released by Orange County's Environmental Management Agency. The map costs $1.62 and is available at Room 219 in the County Engineering Building near Broadway and Civic Center Drive West. For information, contact the Orange County Transportation Planning Division at (714) 834-3111.

In a few years, Glendale residents may be able to ride to Pasadena unencumbered by traffic, noise or diesel fumes. Not in a car, though. Arroyo Verdugo Transportation Coalition members are hoping to connect the coalition's five member cities--Burbank, Glendale, South Pasadena, Pasadena and La Canada Flintridge--with a series of bicycle paths.

As Los Angeles struggles to restore its namesake river, a considerable obstacle has arisen -- NBC Universal, which is trying to block a public bike path from traversing its property along the waterway. The flap over the long-planned path comes as the company is touting the green credentials of a massive residential development proposed for its back lot.

THE transportation bill President Bush signed last week provides an estimated $4 billion in federal funds to expand bike and foot paths in California and other states. Although most of the money will pay for roads and bridges, dog walkers, cyclists and trail runners may see some pet projects realized. In Southern California, $460,000 could be used to extend the 5-mile-long Los Angeles River bikeway farther into the San Fernando Valley, according to Sen. Barbara Boxer's staff.

In this epicenter of traffic, where the rich and famous are usually stuck in congestion like everyone else, actor Ed Begley Jr. has found a humble, two-wheeled way to travel faster. Since Begley was a boy with a paper route, he has loved riding bicycles. The actor, now 54, still pedals everywhere -- to deal-making meetings on the Westside, to visit friends in Ojai, even to a recent film festival in Hollywood. "My No.

Oceanside intends to build a bike-and-pedestrian trail linking it to nearby coastal cities and perhaps, eventually, to San Diego. The city will begin building its 16-mile portion of the Coastal Rail Trail in early April. The path will run through Oceanside, Carlsbad, Encinitas and Solana Beach. It would follow city streets and a rail line. The first phase of the trail is expected to be completed in June, said city project manager Peter Biniaz.

Jose Luis Pineda, a motorcyclist with nerves of steel, earns a living zig-zagging through Mexico City's nightmare traffic. But last week the 32-year-old deliveryman found himself cornered. Four irate cyclists surrounded Pineda, bringing his Yamaha 100 to a halt. "You are trespassing in a bicycle lane," declared Roberto Cruz, looking authoritative in a brown suit and tie. "You deserve a fine. We are going to fine you." The motorcyclist looked shaken.

For the first time since the 1970s, city officials are taking a serious look at bicycles as a means of transportation. A new plan approved by the City Council laid out the blueprint for hundreds of miles of bikeways to be built along major roads in the city in the next 20 years. "People should be allowed to travel by bicycle in Fresno," council member Brad Castillo said. "We should be more accommodating and not put up roadblocks."

The Los Angeles City Council has decided to seek $250,000 to help develop a 16-mile-long bikeway between downtown Los Angeles and North Hollywood that would offer the physically fit an alternative way to commute to work. The council voted unanimously Tuesday to seek gas tax funding from the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission to finance design of the bikeway, which, as proposed, would largely be built along the Los Angeles River channel.

Bicycle enthusiasts have a dream: a paved bikeway along Trabuco Creek stretching 16 miles that will offer bicyclists and pedestrians a scenic, mountains-to-the-sea route with no cars to interfere. Last week, more than 60 bicyclists, residents and elected officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the latest Trabuco Creek bikeway link, a $1.

Workers halted construction of a bike trail through O'Neill Regional Park on Wednesday morning after discovering five military bombs, one containing an ounce of explosives. By noon, the Orange County Sheriff's Department's bomb squad had detonated the live bomb and taken the other four away. The incident was another reminder that the park had been part of the former Trabuco Bombing Range, where Navy pilots practiced dropping ordnance from 1944 to 1956.

Re "Bridges Are Roadblocks for L.A. River Bikeway," Aug. 25: Yes, it's state of the art. Yes, it has fancy gates. No, there is no law enforcement. The L.A. River is home to countless transients and their "pets." Recently, while exploring the new section between Los Feliz Boulevard and Fletcher Drive, my family, along with our (leashed) dog, were attacked by two pit bulls and a German shepherd ("pets," according to the "camper"). The LAPD, the Parks and Recreation Department and, finally, the Department of Animal Regulation all said: "This is not our jurisdiction."