At the Culver City Council meeting on Feb. 27, 2023, the council voted unanimously to support a study on extending the Ballona Creek Bike Path through to its originally planned conclusion at Venice and Cochran in Los Angeles.
The council listened to a presentation by Michael Schneider of Streets for All, the organization that has been supporting the completion of the bike path. His detailed accounting of how the path can proceed up the creek, navigate the freeway and end at the originally planned conclusion satisfied the process to approve the funding for the study.
The Ballona Creek Bike Path, which currently ends at Syd Kronenthal Park, was begun in the 1970’s as two part plan. Part One is the Bike Path we have now; Part Two was simply never built. It would add another 2.3 miles to the bike path.
The updated vision includes more green spaces and pocket parks along the way, ending at Venice Boulevard and Cochran in the West Adams section of Los Angeles. The additional infrastructure would enhance flood control and heat island mitigation, in addition to habitat restoration.
More than a dozen people spoke from the floor to ask the council to support the effort, including David McNeill of the Baldwin Hills Conservancy, another organization supporting the project. “The Ballona Creek bike path serves as the only dedicated bicycle/pedestrian route in the area…The time to implement these infrastructure improvements in now.”
Schneider noted that, even with the study fully funded, the involvement of the Army Corps of Engineers meant that it may be a decade before anything was built. “But the sooner was start, the sooner we finish.”
The council voted 5-0 to grant the $100,000 requested to help fund the study.
Judith Martin-Straw
