Bike paths in the greater Los Angeles area

Greater Los Angeles Area

The Greater Los Angeles Area, or the Southland, is a term used for the Combined Statistical Area sprawled over five counties in the southern part of California, namely Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Bernardino County, Riverside County and Ventura County...

 are divided into "classes" which seem to vary in definition from document to document, but essentially are:

• Class I Bike Path - Completely separate from traffic.
• Class II Bike Lane - A lane set aside in city streets exclusively for bikes. California traffic laws state that cars may only pull into a path when within 200 feet of making a right turn. The most common cause of injuries in these lanes is from automobiles making a right turn in front of a cyclist after passing the cyclist. This is due to motorists not being accustomed to watching for traffic on their right when they are in the "slow lane".
• Class III Bike Route - Purportedly safe city streets connected into a means of getting from one place to another on a bike.

These bike paths are completely uncovered by any warranties as to fitness for safe cycling. This is in direct contrast to ordinary city streets. There are two pieces of case law which establish this clearly, one of them being Prokop v. City of Los Angeles.

It is legal in Los Angeles to ride on sidewalks as long as riders do not show "wanton disregard" for the safety of other sidewalk users. In California, when mounted and riding on the road, cyclists are required to 'behave like vehicles' when it comes to obeying signals, signage, and lane restrictions (see the "California Driver Handbook" for details). In brief: Ride with lane position appropriate to own speed, traffic flow, and destination. For example, in the right third of the lane when traveling slower than other traffic. In the center of the lane when traveling the speed of traffic or at any intersection (e.g., stoplight, stop sign). In the left turn lane when making a left turn.

Paths

• Arroyo Seco bicycle path
  Arroyo Seco bicycle path
  The Arroyo Seco bicycle path is an approximately long Class I bicycle path in Los Angeles, California. The path connects Montecito Heights Recreation Center, Ernest E...
  
  
• Azusa River bicycle path
• Ballona Creek bicycle path
  Ballona Creek bicycle path
  The Ballona Creek bicycle path is a six-mile stretch of Class 1 bicycle path in Los Angeles that parallels Ballona Creek for its entire length. It starts where Jefferson Boulevard veers south to spawn National Boulevard in Culver City, passes through Del Rey and Playa Vista, and ending joining The...
  
  
• Bolsa Chica bicycle path (includes Huntington Beach)
• Browns Canyon Wash bicycle path
• California Aqueduct bikeway
• Coyote Creek bicycle path
  Coyote Creek bicycle path
  The Coyote Creek bikeway is a Class 1 bike path in Los Angeles County that runs adjacent to the Coyote Creek flood control channel for approximately 9.5 miles...
  
  
• Culver Boulevard Median bicycle path
  Culver Boulevard Median bicycle path
  The Culver Boulevard Median bicycle path is a stretch of Class 1 bicycle path that runs along Culver Boulevard, beginning to the northeast of Huron Avenue in Culver City, passing under the San Diego Freeway, and ending at Braddock Drive in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Del Rey...
  
  
• Duarte bicycle path
  Duarte bicycle path
  The Duarte bicycle path is a Class 1 bike path in Los Angeles County, USA, that parallels Royal Oaks Drive from Buena Vista Street to Royal Oaks Park for about ....
  
  
• Hermosa Valley Green Belt path
• L.A. River bicycle path
• La Mirada bicycle path
• Lario bicycle path
• Legg Lake bicycle path
• Long Beach bicycle path
  Long Beach bicycle path
  The Long Beach Bike Path in Los Angeles County meanders about along the sand from Shoreline Village in downtown Long Beach, California to Bayshore Avenue in Belmont Shore...
  
  
• Long Beach Green Belt path
  Long Beach Green Belt path
  The Long Beach Greenbelt is different from the traditional notion of community recreational parks. Originally slated to become a block of self-storage units, it was instead transformed by community activists into an open space habitat for California native plants.-Greenbelt history:The site served...
  
  
• Metro Orange Line bicycle path
  Metro Orange Line bicycle path
  The Metro Orange Line bicycle path is a mixed Class I bike path and Class II bike lane that parallels the Metro Orange Line busway across the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California.-Route:...
  
  
• Mount Lowe Railroad Trail
• Puddingstone Reservoir bicycle path
• Rio Hondo bicycle path
  Rio Hondo bicycle path
  The Rio Hondo bicycle path is a Class 1 bicycle path that parallels the Rio Hondo through Los Angeles County. The North end of the path begins at the Peck Road Water Conservation Park, about 1/2 mile South of Live Oak Avenue on Peck Road, on the West side of the street...
  
  
• San Diego Creek bicycle path
  San Diego Creek bicycle path
  The San Diego Creek bicycle path is largely contained within the city of Irvine, California. The path begins where the San Diego Creek empties into Upper Newport Bay...
  
  
• San Gabriel River bicycle path
  San Gabriel River bicycle path
  The San Gabriel River Trail is a bike path in Los Angeles County, California, USA.The South end of the SGRT is Seal Beach...
  
  
• Santa Ana River bicycle path
  Santa Ana River bicycle path
  The Santa Ana River Bicycle path is a bicycle Trail in Southern California, stretching 30 miles from the Pacific Ocean at Huntington Beach along the Santa Ana River to the Orange/Riverside county line...
  
  
• Santa Clara River Trail
  Santa Clara River Trail
  The Santa Clara River Trail is a rail trail that is used as a paved bicycle and walking path located in the city of Santa Clarita, California.The path is currently approximately in length and generally runs in an east-west direction and closely follows the path of the Santa Clara River and Soledad...
  
  
• Santa Monica bicycle path
• Sepulveda Dam bicycle path
• The Strand (South Bay bicycle path)
  The Strand (bicycle path)
  The Strand is a paved bicycle path that runs mostly along the Pacific Ocean shoreline in Los Angeles County, California. The northern terminus of the trail is a paved Class 1 bicycle path at Will Rogers State Beach in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles. The southern terminus of the trail is in...
  
  
• Thompson Creek bicycle path
• Watts Towers Crescent Greenway
• West Los Angeles Veloway
  West Los Angeles Veloway
  The West Los Angeles Veloway is a bike / bridge project prepared by the Citizens Committee for the West Los Angeles Veloway in 1982/3. The planning for the project attracted grant funding. The project also survived for man years as a planning option in the . It was never constructed. Its aim was to...
  
  
• Yorba Linda bicycle path

External links

• Bicycle Friendly Community
• http://www.bikingcalifornia.com
• Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
• "California Driver Handbook"
• "Metro Bike Map" Map of many Class I, II, and III bikeways in Los Angeles County (876kB PDF, April 2006)
• California Streets and Highway Code 890.4 Definition of Class I, II, & III bikeways