Master Bike Plan Moving Forward

As the  aims to interconnect biking routes across seven cities in the area—including Manhattan Beach—it must be approved by those city councils before implementation.

So far, commissions from all of the seven South Bay cities included in the plan have OK-ed the final draft. The Hermosa Beach Public Works Commission unanimously approved the plan in September. Now the councils are ready to vote.

The bike plan will be presented to the Hermosa Beach City Council on Oct. 25.

Before coming to Hermosa, the plan will be considered in Lawndale on Monday, Oct. 17 and in Redondo Beach on Tuesday, Oct. 18. The Manhattan Beach city council along with councils in Gardena and Torrance will review the plan in November.

Marissa Christiansen, the South Bay initiative director, said in a recent statement, that the bike plan is "the first even multi-jurisdictional bike plan… together we’re making bike planning history and are providing a new and improved model for cities all over the globe to follow."

Once approved, the plan, funded by $240,000 from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, would add 213.8 miles of bike pathways to the 73.2 miles of pathways that currently span the seven South Bay cities.

The plan could lead to bike "facilities" (which are stations of bike racks and bike lanes) opening in the Beach Cities.

The plan, if approved, would take about 20 years to implement, from 2012 to 2032, according to the South Bay Bicycle Coalition. A copy of the entire plan is available to view online.