# Orange Line Bike Path??



## JTK (Jul 30, 2004)

Does any one know if this path is finished? Any experiences riding it? It looks like it will go from North Hollywood to Warner Center. Not sure on exact milage, but seems like a good haul. Looks almost too good to be true!


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## Mapei (Feb 3, 2004)

It is essentially finished, and I've ridden it, nearly end to end. It's convenient in a pinch; and it certainly provides a less stressful way of getting past the San Diego Freeway than going over Burbank Blvd; but it's not quite the Nirvana we might have hoped for. 

It is absolutely plagued with traffic signals...all of which are invariably red. Except when you're on the old Sepulveda Dam Area section, forget about getting any good rhythm up. The crossing buttons and the curb cuts are all placed in such a way as to make every intersection a trial to negotiate. The engineers who drew up the plans either hated bicycles or had never actually ridden one. When the landscaping grows in, perhaps the path will be prettier, but right now it's so ugly it almost sneers at you. It seems to tell you, "You, lowly bicyclist, don't deserve anything better."

Of course, it didn't help my attitude toward the path when, riding the stretch between Reseda and Wilbur, I got a blowout intense enough to rip my inner tube to pieces and send my tire clear off the rim. It sounded like a gunshot.

One more quirk about the path I forgot to mention. At every stoplight, there's a sign that says Bike Path Ends. This is despite the fact that, once you cross the street, the bike path continues happily (if drunkenly) on. 

Walrus - Maybe I'll see you on the path some day. A couple weeks ago I did my first ascent of Santa Susanna Pass, from the San Fernando Valley side, of course. When I reached the summit I went over Box Canyon. Purty steep (12-13% on my bike computer), but a fun trip. Anyway, that area seemed to be ground zero for the big Chatsworth fire. I hope it survives the winter rains.


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## The Walrus (Apr 2, 2000)

I guess we're supposed to rejoice that those who know better have given us even this much, and in truth, it _is_ good to have. I agree that it's a drag that virtually ever light encountered is red (nice long stretch between Woodley and Sepulveda free of encumbrances), and I hate getting dumped onto Chandler and the on-street bike lane, but it is a step up. Sure hope they spruce up that stretch along Oxnard/Topham, though.

There needs to be another east-west route, across the center of the Valley, though, now that the north (Rinaldi) and south ends have been addressed, however imperfectly. ...and how cool would it be to be able to ride from, say, Granada Hills parallel to Sepulveda down to Sherman Oaks, and then over the Pass?


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## konadude (Feb 2, 2005)

*Better than nothing!*

I rode the path this past weekend from Warner Center all the way to the intersection at Fulton and Burbank. I didn't see (or notice I guess) any "Bike Path Ends" signs until I reached this intersection though. Anyway, since I saw that sign, I just turned around and headed back! I should've crossed and checked out the other side to see how far it went. Oh well.

Anyway, I agree with Walrus here that it IS a good thing to have. Hey, nothing's perfect but its a start, right? Its better to be grateful than a complainer in this case!


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

JTK said:


> Does any one know if this path is finished? Any experiences riding it? It looks like it will go from North Hollywood to Warner Center. Not sure on exact milage, but seems like a good haul. Looks almost too good to be true!


I've been riding the path on and off the last couple of weeks. There are signs up - it' a little over 14 miles long. Looks like they are still doing work on it though. When crossing the street at Wilbur or Tampa or so, I had a face off with a big landscaping truck. They were driving up onto the sidewalk from the street just as I got my green light and was trying get off the sidewalk to cross the street. We worked it out. 

It's too choked with walkers and soccer players in the park area to be worth it on the weekend. Weekdays are good though.


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## The Walrus (Apr 2, 2000)

The park's not too bad if you go north on White Oak to Victory and then just shoot down Victory going east. The mistake is continuing along Oxnard and then going through the middle of the soccer fields, and then crossing Balboa and going by the lake--the people you encounter are every bit as witless as those on the South Bay bike path along the beach. 

I got a late start yesterday and only had time for an out-and-back to the Red Line station in NoHo. With the exception of landscaping in some spots, the work is completed. I'm beginning to warm up to this thing, despite the aggravation of the traffic lights; even I, an almost neurotically law-abiding sort, am inclined to blow off the lights at some of the less-traveled streets. I haven't gotten to the point of jamming across Van Nuys or Sepulveda against the red like some idiots I've seen.

I discovered there's another bike path down the middle of Chandler, in Burbank. It's separated from the eastern terminus of the Orange Line by about two miles of light industrial slums, but once it begins, it's pretty pleasant, more pleasant than a lot of the Orange Line path. I think it goes from the western edge of Burbank to Mariposa, which is about 1/4 mi west of that north-south stretch of Victory Bl. Gonna see if I can get the time to do the complete ride from Warner Center to downtown Burbank this week, and if I avoid screwing up the camera settings this time, I'll post some pix.


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## Mapei (Feb 3, 2004)

Part of my commute to work is on the stretch of Chandler east of the Subway Terminus. The bike path that exists on the center median of Chandler through Burbank is mellow and friendly, but it's also kind of useless. That stretch of Chandler has hardly any traffic. It's almost a bike path, as is. Like the Orange Line Bike Path, it's plagued with stop signs while Chandler proper is not. (Like you, I'm a neurotic law-abider.) All told, I have more trouble avoiding folks walking their dogs on that stretch of bike path than I have trouble with motor vehicles on Chandler.

So sayeth the Roida.


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