Fountain Avenue Could Get Bike Lanes

Fountain Avenue could become a major bicycle thoroughfare with bike lanes on both sides and car traffic reduced to just a single lane in each direction through West Hollywood.

That is one of the ideas the recently formed Bicycle Task Force discussed Wednesday night at its monthly meeting. The task force is charged with figuring out ways to make the city more bicycle friendly and encouraging residents to get out of their cars and onto two wheels.

Members noted that Fountain Avenue through Los Angeles is already one lane each direction with stop signs at virtually every intersection. They also noted that westbound traffic tends to speed up when Fountain crosses La Brea into West Hollywood, where it becomes two lanes. 

“I’d like to see it go back to Fountain Avenue rather than Fountain Freeway,” commented one member who was concerned about the speeding traffic making it dangerous for biking.

Fountain could have either dedicated bike lanes, such as those along Santa Monica Boulevard through Boystown, or “sharrow” lanes, where cars and bicycles share the lane equally. Whatever the task force recommends would have to be approved by the City Council and would also need approval from the city of Los Angeles since it controls the north side of Fountain between La Brea and Fairfax.

One member reported that West Hollywood actually has control of both sides of Fountain, right up to the curb on the north side. This brought some confusion from members who said they always thought the dividing line between Los Angeles and West Hollywood in that part of town was down the middle of Fountain. 

City Councilwoman Abbe Land, who is a co-sponsor of the bike task force, told the committee not to worry. “Don’t let the question of boundaries stop this idea,” Land said, noting that L.A. is also working on developing more bike lanes. “Los Angeles will likely cooperate.” 

San Vicente Boulevard is another place the task force would like to see bike lanes added since it is wide enough for both cars and bicycles. One member suggested that the median could be removed and the bike lanes could go down the middle of the street.

Other streets mentioned for east-west bike lanes were Holloway and Norton, while Fairfax and Vista/Gardener were mentioned for north-south bike lanes.

The Bicycle Task Force next meets June 1 at City Hall.

In the meantime, a free bicycle safety workshop for teens and adults will be held May 12 from 6-8 p.m. at the Roxbury Community Center, 471 S. Roxbury Drive in Beverly Hills. That workshop will discuss safety issues, night riding and bike maintenance.

Additionally, May 19 is Bike to Work Day throughout the region. The city of West Hollywood will sponsor a pit stop from 6 to 9 a.m. at San Vicente and Santa Monica boulevards.

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