New bike lanes create new tensions in L.A.

We all know Los Angeles is one of the most car-centric world cities. But L.A. also has a tiny but growing population of people who choose to commute on their bicycles instead of in their cars.

To encourage that trend, the City of Los Angeles is moving forward with an ambitious plan to create hundreds of miles of new bicycle lanes over the next 30 years. Planners at L.A.’s Department of Transportation hope the new lanes will both make cyclists safer and help congestion by encouraging people to leave their car in the garage and pedal to work. That, in turn, is supposed to improve people’s health and the environment.

But not everybody is happy with L.A.’s expanding bicycle lane system. As the system grows, some neighborhood groups and merchant associations believe the bike lanes will only worsen congestion and parking by taking away valuable pavement from cars.

Los Angeles currently has about 300 miles of bike paths, which is a big increase over past years. But there are plans to do even more. L.A. would like to establish a 1,600 mile bike path system over the next 30 years. (Photo by Saul Gonzalez)