The Orange Line Bikeway is a cycle route in

Los Angeles County, California Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is th ...

that runs and “spans the lengths of the San Fernando Valley’s major communities” from Chatsworth to

North Hollywood North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The North ...

, “connecting such places as Pierce College, the Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area, the

Van Nuys Government Center The Van Nuys Government Center (aka Van Nuys Civic Center or San Fernando Valley Administrative Center) is a cluster of buildings in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles that houses various local, state and federal government offices and serv ...

and Valley College.” The Orange Line Bikeway's “seventeen-point-nine miles of exclusive, smooth, and lush

active mobility Active mobility, soft mobility, active travel, active transport or active transportation is the transport of people or goods, through non-motorized means, based around human physical activity. The best-known forms of active mobility are walking a ...

glory” runs alongside the G Line

bus rapid transit Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...

route. The Orange Line Bikeway is one of two major bicycle routes in Los Angeles that share dedicated rights-of-way with

mass transit Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...

, the other being the Expo Line Bikeway in

west L.A. West Los Angeles is an area within the city of Los Angeles, California. The residential and commercial neighborhood is divided by the Interstate 405 freeway, and each side is sometimes treated as a distinct neighborhood, mapped differently by di ...

The Class I off-street bike path section of the Bikeway runs from

Chatsworth station Chatsworth station (also known as Chatsworth Transportation Center) is an intermodal passenger transport station in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Chatsworth, California, United States. It is served by Amtrak intercity rail service, Metrolink ...

to approximately Valley College station. The section on Chandler Boulevard is a Class II on-street bike lane (beginning on the west between

Coldwater Canyon Coldwater Canyon is a canyon running perpendicular to and over the central Santa Monica Mountains, in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A section of the canyon south of Mulholland Drive is also a neighborhood in the Beverly Crest Ne ...

and Fulton Avenue, near the Ethel Avenue crossing, and continuing to

North Hollywood station North Hollywood station is a combined rapid transit (known locally as a subway) and bus rapid transit (BRT) station in the Los Angeles Metro Rail and Metro Busway systems. It is the northwestern terminus of the B Line subway and eastern termin ...

on the east).

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...

cycling advocates named the Orange Line Bike Path one of the “six best places to bike in L.A.” One guide to Los Angeles cycling notes, “While the path provides a traffic-free, safe ride, users have to stop when crossing streets that run perpendicular to it. For cyclists, stopping every so often reduces their overall ability to maintain the flow of an uninterrupted ride. That’s why the Orange Line Bicycle Path is suitable for casual, recreational riding over hardcore cycling or training.” In the east at

, the route connects to the Chandler Boulevard Bike Path that runs to Burbank for a total of . In the west at

it connects to the

Browns Creek Bike Path Browns Creek Bike Path is a Class I bike path that is “tucked away from the surrounding hustle and bustle” of the San Fernando Valley, “hugging the side” of the Browns Canyon Wash. The path begins at Lassen Street, just east of Chatsw ...

. The bike path also connects readily to the bike paths of the Sepulveda Dam Recreation Area. Because of the long reach of the extended path, this route has been called a “San Fernando Valley commuter corridor” and “the crown jewel of San Fernando Valley bike infrastructure.”

History

The path (“decorated with native plants and public art”) was opened in 2005 with a route between Warner Center and North Hollywood. The county added in 2012 “between Canoga station and the Chatsworth train station.” The construction project included

bioswale Bioswales are channels designed to concentrate and convey stormwater runoff while removing debris and pollution. Bioswales can also be beneficial in recharging groundwater. Bioswales are typically vegetated, mulched, or xeriscaped. They consi ...

s to reduce water pollution from

urban runoff Urban runoff is surface runoff of rainwater, landscape irrigation, and car washing created by urbanization. Impervious surfaces (roads, parking lots and sidewalks) are constructed during land development. During rain , storms and other precipi ...

and “recycled construction debris from the 405 expansion project “crushed and used as an underground base.”

Access

According to the website of

County Supervisor A board of supervisors is a governmental body that oversees the operation of county government in the U.S. states of Arizona, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as 16 counties in New York. There are equivalen ...

Zev Yaroslavsky Zev Yaroslavsky (born December 21, 1948) is a politician from Los Angeles County, California. He was a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors from District 3, which includes the San Fernando Valley, the Westside of Los Angeles an ...

, “Most of the wide, asphalt-surfaced path has separate, dedicated lanes for bicyclists and pedestrians. Still, there are some 'multiuse' areas in which walkers and cyclists will share space. Wider-than-usual curb ramps also will allow cyclists and pedestrians to get on and off the path more easily, especially when it’s crowded.” LA metro liner with bicycle rack

For those wishing to transfer from the bike path to the bus and vice versa, “ G (Orange) Line buses pretty much all hold three bikes, though racks fill quickly, so it’s easiest to board at the ends of the line in North Hollywood or Chatsworth.” A 2015 study of “cycling transit users” (CTUs) of the G Line found: “(1) CTUs are more likely to be stranded during weekday nights due to the proximity to three major colleges; on weekends, CTUs are more likely to be stranded in the mornings; (2) Metro’s policy that increased evening service during 2013 successfully decreased the number of stranded cyclists; and (3) when the racks are two-thirds full, approximately 20 percent of buses will strand at least one cyclist.” Dedicated ”park and ride” parking lots are available at Chatsworth, Sherman Way, Canoga, Pierce College, Reseda, Balboa, Sepulveda,

Van Nuys Van Nuys () is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. History In 1909, ...

and

stations. There are bike racks at every G Line stop along with bike lockers available for rent.

Hazards

There is a “dangerous blind curve on the east end of the Canoga Avenue station.” Transient encampments and overgrown landscaping may intermittently obstruct the path.

Improvements

Overpass bridges for the bike/pedestrian path are being built at the

Sepulveda Boulevard Sepulveda Boulevard is a major street and transportation corridor in the City of Los Angeles and several other cities in western Los Angeles County, California. The street parallels Interstate 405 for much of its route. Portions of Sepulveda Bou ...

and

Van Nuys Boulevard Van Nuys Boulevard is a major north-south arterial road that runs through the central San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles County, California. The boulevard was notable for its cruising lifestyle that was prevalent in the 1960s and 1970s, which ...

crossings. Scheduled completion date is 2025. This improvement is on the

Twenty-Eight by ‘28 The Twenty-eight by '28 initiative is an effort set forth by former Mayor Eric Garcetti that the City of Los Angeles complete 28 transportation infrastructure projects before the start of the 2028 Summer Olympics on and the 2028 Summer Paralympics ...

project list in anticipation of the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.

External links

Bike Travel in the SFV — The Orange Line Bike Path

labikepaths.com Orange Line Bike Path

Biking in LA: Orange Line bike path tag archive

Urbanize LA: Orange Line

VIDEOS

STREETFILMS: L.A.’s Orange Line bus rapid transit plus bike path!

Orange Line Bike Path Warner Center to Chatsworth
(17 min)
Metro Orange bike path westbound
(14 min)

MAPS

Los Angeles Bikeway Map (Metro.net) - PDF hosted on Dropbox

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orange Line Bikeway Bike paths in Los Angeles G Line (Los Angeles Metro) Rail trails in California Parks in Los Angeles Parks in the San Fernando Valley Transportation in the San Fernando Valley Canoga Park, Los Angeles Lake Balboa, Los Angeles North Hollywood, Los Angeles Tarzana, Los Angeles Van Nuys, Los Angeles Winnetka, Los Angeles