LA Metro Breaks Ground On Bike And Pedestrian Path Through South LA

Los Angeles County’s public transit agency broke ground Wednesday on a bike and pedestrian path that — when completed in 2024* — will provide car-free mobility options between Inglewood and the east side of South L.A. and access to transit along the way.

L.A. Metro’s Rail to Rail Active Transportation Project will create dedicated walking and two-way cycling lanes separated from street traffic. The path is being built on top of an old freight rail line owned by Metro.

The 5.5-mile route will create connections between Metro’s A (Blue) Line Slauson Station, the Silver Line rapid bus station at the 110 Freeway and Slauson Avenue, and the future Fairview Heights station on the K (Crenshaw/LAX) Line, which the agency expects will open this fall.

Here's what Metro's land looks like now along Slauson Avenue near San Pedro Street.

(Courtesy L.A. Metro)

A rendering of what the project is expected to look like once completed (hopefully in 2024).

(Courtesy L.A. Metro)

Agency officials said the $140 million project will feature “extensive landscaping,” with hundreds of drought-tolerant plants and trees to provide shade. It will also include benches, lighting, security cameras and emergency call boxes.

The orange dotted line notes the bike and pedestrian path that broke ground Wednesday, July 6. The portion highlighted in yellow notes where a second phase of the path is being planned to extend to the Los Angeles River. The purple dotted line shows where Metro's West Santa Ana Branch Project will be built, with a grey dotted line showing a potential route for the biking and walking path.

(Courtesy L.A. Metro)

A second segment of the path, dubbed the Rail to River project, is still in the planning stages. It would extend the bike and walking path from the Slauson A Line station further east to the L.A. River, passing through or near the cities of Huntington Park, Vernon, Maywood and Bell.

* The path might be slated to open in 2024, but as with many Metro projects and services, delays are very possible.