Arterial Streets

The City of Long Beach has been a leader in bike safety and facilities, installing California’s first bike boxes in 2009 and the first protected bike lanes west of New York City in 2011. Funded primarily by federal and state funds, the Bellflower Boulevard Bike Lane Project (2018) created protected lanes for bike traffic in either direction on a 1.1 mile stretch between Atherton Street and Pacific Coast Highway. These lanes are just one set of many examples that have been completed.

Long Beach Public Works Director Craig Beck stated that “[t]he city is building a bicycle network to provide for alternative mobility options across Long Beach. Sixth Street, Fifteenth Street, Daisy and other bicycle priority streets will ultimately connect neighborhoods and allow for safe bicycle use, which will reduce traffic impacts.”

Oros Green Street is considered the first green street in the City of Los Angeles, and the first project completed under city Proposition O for projects that prevent and remove pollutants from local waterways. Planned and designed by the nonprofit, North East Trees, and constructed by the City of Los Angeles, the project captures and collects stormwater runoff through a landscape of native plants and trees along a meandering sidewalk and pocket park into underground infiltration chambers.

At the opening, then executive director of North East Trees observed that "[t]his project marks the first time that a neighborhood can say that it is contributing no pollutants to the Los Angeles River.”

Supported by the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition and the San Gabriel Valley Bike Coalition, Temple City installed this living street as one of the first major improvements of a broader vision for the city. The Rosemead Boulevard Safety Enhancement and Beautification Project includes lanes wide enough for two bikes in either direction protected by landscaped planters supporting trees without curbs on the insides to allow water to flow through, in addition to sidewalks and automotive traffic.

“Separated bike lanes create a literal barrier in which the likelihood of a bicyclist having a collision is very low. More people ride regularly when they feel safe. What’s really revolutionary is that Temple City is moving forward on this on such a busy street there.”
—Allison Mannos, Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition

A partnership between the nonprofit, The River Project, and City of Los Angeles out of the original Tujunga/Pacoima Watershed Plan, the Woodman Avenue Medium Retrofit Project is a ¾-mile long stretch of living street—a product of community meetings which meaningfully involved local neighbors in design decisions. A trail provides access for pedestrians, cyclists, and bus stops under native sycamore trees along a constructed swale that captures, cleans, and infiltrates an average 80 acre-feet of rainwater to groundwater a year.

At the public opening US Congressman Tony Cardenas stated "It may not look like a big project in width, but the length of it is wow."

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Living Streets

Gateway Cities Strategic Transportation Plan. Cambridge Systematics, Inc. (2016). Gateway Cities Council of Governments.

A cross-jurisdictional plan encompassing Gateway Cities on priority corridors and strategies to address  transportation, active transportation, and water management.

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Living Streets: A Guide for Los Angeles. Heal the Bay et al. (2015).

Guidance and principles from leading experts on best strategies for planning, designing, and funding living street projects

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Model Design Manual for Living Streets. Ryan Snyder Associates and Transportation Planning for Livable Communities. (2011).Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. 

Guidance and principles from leading experts on best strategies for living street projects.

Green Streets

City of Portland Stormwater Management Manual. City of Portland Environmental Services. (2016).

Time-tested methods and strategies for water management with applications specific to streets. 

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Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond, Vol. 1, 2nd Edition: Guiding Principles to Welcome Rain to Your Life and Landscape. Lancaster, Brad. (2013). Tucson, AZ: Rainsource Press.

Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond, Vol. 2, Water-Harvesting Earthworks. Lancaster, Brad. (2010). Tucson, AZ: Rainsource Press.

Resources for general principles of hydrology and grading relevant for street improvement projects, particularly distributed, nature-based projects.

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City of Mesa Low Impact Development Toolkit. Logan Simpson and Dibble Engineering. 2015. City of Mesa, AZ. 

Methods and strategies for water management with applications for streets appropriate for climate similar to the Gateway Cities.

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Green Infrastructure for Desert Communities. Watershed Management Group. (2017).

Methods and strategies for water management with applications for streets appropriate for climate similar to the Gateway Cities.

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Complete Streets

City of Temple City Bicycle Master Plan. Alta Planning + Design. (2011). City of Temple City.  

Example of planning facilities to prioritize bike riding as a safe and reliable mode of transportation.

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County of Los Angeles Bicycle Master Plan. Alta Planning + Design, Leslie Scott Consulting, and KOA Corporation. (2012). County of Los Angeles Department of Public Works.

Cross-jurisdictional plan for major bike corridors.

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Active Transportation Strategic Plan (ATSP). Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro). (2016).

Update to the 2006 County of Los Angeles Bicycle Master Plan, the ATSP includes comprehensive cross-jurisdictional inventory of facilities, guidance, and priorities for biking, walking, and public transit.

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City of Long Beach Bicycle Master Plan. City of Long Beach Department of Development Services, City of Long Beach Department of Public Works, Alta Planning + Design, Here LA, and Sumire Gant Consulting. (2017).

Example of planning facilities to prioritize bike riding as a safe and reliable mode of transportation.