Bicycle advocates want to see LA River bike path project accelerated ahead of LA28 Olympics
Plans are in the works to link the LA River bike path gap in downtown LA, and bicycle advocates say getting it done before the LA28 Olympics would ease traffic in the downtown area.
There is currently about an eight-mile gap in the LA River Trail, and Metro has a plan in the works to link it, creating a 32-mile continuous path. Once complete, the path would extend from Griffith Park through downtown L.A. to the city of Vernon and connect to Long Beach along the LA River.
Peter Abraham, with the nonprofit People for Bikes, is pushing the city to accelerate several bike projects before 2028, including closing the eight-mile gap through the heart of Los Angeles.
Angelinos already voted to pay for it, approving a half-cent sales tax in 2016 to help connect the path from the San Fernando Valley to Long Beach. A decade later, the money is there, but bureaucracy is standing in the way.
"It's $430 million; the money was originally approved 10 years ago in a citywide vote, but now we have to get it into construction, and hurry up so it gets done by the Olympics," Abraham said.
The path abruptly ends right before downtown L.A., and it's in between some of the biggest Olympic venues, from the Rose Bowl in Pasadena to Exposition Park.
"At the Olympics, we're going to have events all over the city, obviously, traffic is a big concern, road closures, all kinds of things," Abraham said. "The more people that are riding to events on their bikes, the better it is in the city."
He points to the number of people who used public transportation to the 2026 FIFA World Cup games in L.A.
"The bike infrastructure is not there yet. We've got a long way to go," Abraham said.
Metro says the LA River bike path is in the planning phase, with completion expected in 2031. Mayor Karen Bass said past city leaders failed to get it moving.
"Well, I did a motion in Metro several months ago to move that along, so it absolutely is receiving the same priority," Bass said, noting that it will likely not be done before the LA28 Olympics.
