San Fernando Road stretching from Burbank to Sylmar in the east San Fernando Valley received an additional protected bike path, Los Angeles officials announced Monday.
After the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) added 4.75 miles of the new bike path, San Fernando Road now has nearly 10 continuous miles of off-street roadway for cyclists, enhancing mobility for those with limited means of transportation.
“You're taking a lot of risk riding a bike through this area,” Los Angeles City Council President Paul Krekorian said. “Many people who are riding their bikes here are not doing it just for fun. They're doing it because they don't have availability of a car, and they need their bikes to get to transit stops to get to work and so on.”
As officials Monday celebrated the new bike path during a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Sun Valley, City Councilmember Imelda Padilla, a San Fernando Valley native, said the latest infrastructure improvement is a step toward “environmental justice” for the community that is plagued with noise pollution from air, ground and rail traffic.
Get top local stories in Southern California delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC LA's News Headlines newsletter.
“You see what I mean by the noise?” Padilla said while pointing to the sky as airplanes took off from Hollywood Burbank Airport. “This project is not just about improving transportation options. It's about connecting our community in ways that are sustainable and accessible for everyone.”
The new protected bike path will also offer more opportunities to community members by connecting several Metrolink stops, according to LADOT General Manager Laura Rubio-Cornejo.
“Families will have a safe place to teach their children to ride a bike or enjoy outdoor recreation,” Rubio-Cornejo said. “Residents will be able to commute from their neighborhoods to job centers using sustainable modes of transportation that will reduce traffic and pollution."
The newly added bike path, which cost over $30 million to build, runs parallel to the Metrolink train tracks.
