Q&A regarding Northvale Segment of Bike Path

Dear Cheviot Friends & Neighbors:

Please see the following release from LADOT regarding answers to questions posed during meeting on May 19, 2021

Exposition Bike Path
Northvale Segment
Community Questions and Answers

Dear Community Member,

Thank you for participating in the Exposition Bike Path Community Update meeting held on May 19, 2021. You are receiving this email to update you with responses to questions asked during the meeting. These responses and other project updates are also posted on LADOT's website. Thank you for your participation and input at this meeting.

Sincerely,

The Expo Bike Path Project Team

1. How can I voice my support ?
You can voice your project support and ask questions at ladot.active@lacity.org

2. Will there be access from Walavista Road? From Motor Avenue Alley?
There will be an access to the bike path from Walavista Road, but not from the Motor Avenue (alley). Access will be provided from Motor Avenue.

3. Is Paul Koretz’ office committed to NOT stand in the way of this project?
Councilmember Koretz is in support of this project, and is committed to having the project become a positive contribution to the community.

4. Why isn't there an access at Cheviot Dr? It would be every other street if one was added there.
The local community voiced their support of the six proposed access points. With additional immediate support LADOT and CD5 can review access points at other locations if the schedule and funding is not impacted.

5. How are you handling the existing bike lane on Motor Avenue southbound at the new crosswalk?
The project will include a new traffic signal and crosswalk on Motor Avenue to allow pedestrians and bicycles to transition from the street to the bike path.

6. Will there be a bike turn signal at the motor access point?
The traffic signal will allow bicyclists to turn at the crosswalk to access the bike path. The design is considering bike movements, but will not include a specific bike turn phase.

7. If the city is forced to resort to eminent domain for holdout parcels, will that delay the timeline?
Eminent domain will not change the schedule as the eminent domain timeline is already factored into the project timeline

8. Has there been consideration of modifying Motor Ave to better protect all users by physically separating the bike lanes between the path and National? There is a center turn lane with few to no driveways along the segment, so the right of way has plenty of room.
The bike lanes along Motor Avenue to National Boulevard are outside of the scope of this project. However, the city is looking at opportunities to make bike improvements on Motor Avenue.

9. How will you prevent/deal with homeless encampments from cropping up on the path; there are already encampments across the way and in the park. And how will you provide safety for cyclists and pedestrians on this path as they will not be visible to anyone when walking/riding on Segment 1.
The goal of this project is to create an active transportation system. The design incorporated 24/7 lighting system. The active use of of the facility discourages the creation of encampments. Additionally, LADOT and CD 5 will monitor the path, and address the removal of any encampments within the bikepath area. The design does not reflect open space areas that may become an attraction for encampments.

10. Will the existing Caltrans equipment on the South side of Northvale, East of Overland, be removed to allow for the bike path to be at full width where it meets Overland?
To clarify the existing equipment and facility belong to Metro. There is no existing equipment that will present issues to the width of the bike facility.

11. Will access between Palms Park and Dunleer/Northvale be maintained during construction?
Vehicular traffic along Northvale Road will be maintained during construction. Pedestrian access to Palms Park via the bridge will be maintained except as necessary for safety or as required for the construction of access ramps and walkways at the path.

12. If you are taking 11 feet on Northvale between Overland and Dunleer, how will we be able to maintain two way traffic on Northvale?
The project will maintain two traffic lanes and parking (on the north/residential side), of Northvale Road.

13. Is there any plan to add protection to the bike lanes on National and Motor between Palms and this new segment?
The bike lanes along Motor Avenue to National Boulevard are outside of the scope of this project. The city is looking at opportunities to make bike improvements on Motor Avenue.

14. Will the security fencing be at all decorated? Looks unfriendly at the moment
The current design has not been finalized. There are three options under consideration. Additional suggestions can be submitted to us at ladot.active@lacity.org

15. Will the wrought iron fence start at Walavista Road or Motor Avenue?
The wrought iron fence will start from Motor Avenue (alley), on the east side, to Northvale Road on the west side of the bike path.

16. The design looks great. What can be done to tighten the construction timeline? Three years seems extremely long for this.
The timeline provided is reasonable based upon the City's experience with constructing projects.

17. Is there a bike path that goes South on Motor and then East on National to the bike path re-start at National - Palms - Exposition?
There is no bike path on Motor Avenue or National Boulevard. There are existing on street bike lanes on Motor Avenue between Manning Avenue and National Boulevard. The city is looking at opportunities to make bike improvements on the existing bicycle facilities in the vicinity.

18. The segment between Putney and Dunleer is adjacent to the street yet the fencing cuts off access for the community. Community members would have to cycle along Northvale without any cycle facility to reach an access point. Why design to exclude the community?
Design standards for raised bike paths required a minimum 5 foot separation from the roadway or a continuous physical barrier such as a fence is required as long as it is not low to the ground. Access points and ramps will be provided between Dunleer and Putney to allow entrance to the bike path.

19. How hilly is the westernmost stretch of Section (segment) 2?
The overall bike path has a grade of less than 5 percent grade, while the stretch between Butterfield Drive and Cheviot Road exceeds 5 percent grade, approximately 7 percent, for less than 300 ft

20. I have 3 questions:
1 - why not have an access point at Cheviot, so you have access points every 2 blocks?
2 - I want to make sure this is accessible 24/7, since the expo line bike path is open 24/7 and this gap would need to be.
3 - I’d like to know more about your plans for Motor - people need to be protected between this path termination and the expo path at the Palms station. Are you going to protect those existing bike lanes? Build a protected cycle track between the path and the existing path?
The local community voiced their support of the six proposed access points. With additional immediate support LADOT and CD5 can review access points at other locations if the schedule and funding is not impacted.

The bike path will be open and lighted 24/7

The bike lanes along Motor Avenue to National Boulevard are outside of the scope of this project. The city is looking at opportunities to make bike improvements on Motor Avenue.

21. Given the time you have before construction of Segment 2, can CD5 look at adding/changing access points?
The local community voiced its support of the six proposed access points. LADOT and CD5 can review access points at other locations.

22. I need a much better understanding of the fence and “buffer zone” on the other side of the fence bordering chabad preschool and Motor Avenue. Is there a fence along Motor Avenue to keep security in place. To stop people from walking into or living in the buffer.
There will be no buffer between the bike path and the chabad other than the fence/retaining wall. The City is meeting with the chabad representative to discuss the security fencing that will impact this.

23. How do we get updates about this project? What is the Council File number?
Updates will be posted on https://ladotlivablestreets.org/projects/Exposition-Bike-Path-Northvale-Segment The associated Council File No: 09-1295-s5

24. To clarify, is this project fully funded? I.e., can we rest assured that funding shortfalls cannot possibly stop this project?
Revision from meeting response: Currently, per the most recent estimates, the project has no budget shortfall. The City is continually looking for addition funds in case estimates increase and/or bids come in higher than anticipated.

25. Will the motor crossing have separate push buttons for bikes and pedestrians? And appropriate timing for each mode?
The design for the Motor Ave crossing currently has a full traffic signal with a single push button control for bicyclists and pedestrians. Additional considerations are being made for bicycle loops for left turning bicyclists.

26. Will the path be lighted?
Yes

27. Motor tends to have very high speed coming down from Manning. Besides the light are there any speed reducing measures or signage moving toward the light?
Speed control measures along Motor Avenue are not part of this project.

28. Walavista road is a dead-end street with limited parking. How will you mitigate this so people driving to the bicycle path won't commandeer the parking spaces on the street from the residents?
Measures such as timed parking or permitted parking can be implemented with the support of the residents on Walavista Road and the public.

29. Re the homeless/safety issues...we have previously been told that there will be no security and LAPD has no jurisdiction to monitor. So can you really explain how you will monitor as you stated?
LADOT maintains its bike paths with regular cleaning services and site visits. When problems are identified, other city departments can be contacted to address safety concerns along the path. When LADOT receives complaints we forward it to the appropriate department.

30. Will you be posting all of the slides on your website?
A recording of the presentation is posted to ladotlivablestreets.org

31. This is a fantastic project, just 3 years sound extremely slow, given that the right of way largely exist. Would additional funds from the recent State budget windfall (incl $500M for active transportation grants) speed this up?
Most of the right-of-way will need to be acquired for this project. This proposed schedule is appropriate and additional funding will not accelerate the schedule.

32. Will the bike path be uphill or will it be flat?
The path will be parallel to Northvale road going uphill following the grade of the street. The path will go downhill from Northvale Rd to Motor Ave

33. Is he saying the path will be higher than the road to flatten the slope?
The path generally follows the same topography along Northvale Road. To reduce the slope of the path would require the path to be below Northvale Road.

34. I support bollards. When crashing on a bike, I don't want to hit a cable rail that will cut me. What type of "security" are we talking about? A cable rail adds to the sense of exclusivity, rather than allowing a multi-modal life style with access throughout.
Design standards for raised bike paths required a minimum 5 foot separation from the roadway or a continuous physical barrier such as a fence is required as long as it is not low to the ground. Bollards do not meet the design standards for this separation as they are not continuous like a fence or in this case a cable railing.