The LA River's billion-dollar makeover still isn't moving forward just yet, but in the meantime, add one more to the huge roster of projects improving access to the city's new favorite waterway. Today, Councilmembers Mitch O'Farrell and Tom LaBonge announced that there will soon be a permanent bridge for walkers and bikers to cross the river between Silver Lake and Atwater Village, built on the concrete supports left over from a bridge once used by the Red Car trolley, right next to the Glendale-Hyperion Bridge.
When complete, the new crossing will link up the Red Car Park on the eastern, Atwater side of the river to the bike and pedestrian path along the western, Silver Lake side of the river. The bridge was originally planed as a temporary fix that would help walkers and cyclists cross the river while the Glendale-Hyperion Bridge was reconfigured and renovated, but now it will be built as a permanent fixture, according to a release from Councilmember O'Farrell.
The news of this new bridge for people on foot and on bikes comes as the Bureau of Engineering has just wrapped a study on the four proposed configurations for the reboot of the Glendale-Hyperion Bridge; they've decided that the best way to make space for two bikes lanes on the bridge would be to cut one of the two sidewalks, says Streetsblog. If the new bridge is intended to make up for that, Streetsblog thinks it probably falls short, and that people are much more likely to use the "limited sidewalk" or just walk on the sidewalkless shoulder.
There's plenty of time to discuss it though, since construction on the pedestrian/bike bridge won't even begin until July 2018. Further up the river, another bridge for bikers and pedestrians is planned to connect Glendale and Griffith Park.
· See All the Potential Designs For the Glendale/Griffith Park Bridge Across the LA River [Curbed LA]
· Army Corps Now Reevaluating Billion-Dollar LA River Rehab [Curbed LA]
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