G Line Bikeway

The G Line Bikeway is a cycle route in Los Angeles County, California, that runs for 17.9 mi from Chatsworth, through Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area to to Valley Glen. It runs alongside the G Line bus rapid transit route, sharing a dedicated right-of-way with it.

The section from Chatsworth station to just east of Valley College station is Class I off-street bike path. The 2 mi section beginning between Coldwater Canyon Avenue and Fulton Avenue and continuing to North Hollywood station on the easton Chandler Boulevard is  Class II on-street bike lane.

One guide to Los Angeles cycling notes that the need for cyclists to stop when the path crosses streets running perpendicular to it inhibits the flow of an uninterrupted ride, making the path better suited to recreational riding than endurance cycling or physical conditioning.

At Chatsworth station, the bikeway connects to the 1.6 mi Browns Creek Bike Path. 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 was opened in 2005 as a 12 mi route between Warner Center and North Hollywood. The county added 4 mi in 2012 “between Canoga station and the Chatsworth train station.”

The construction project included bioswales to reduce water pollution from urban runoff and “recycled construction debris from the 405 expansion project “crushed and used as an underground base.”

Access
According to the website of County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, “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 6 ft curb ramps also will allow cyclists and pedestrians to get on and off the path more easily, especially when it’s crowded.”

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, , , , , , , 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 and Van Nuys Boulevard crossings. Scheduled completion date is 2025. This improvement is on the Twenty-Eight by ‘28 project list in anticipation of the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.

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