Checking Out What’s New on Verdugo

(Photos by Walk Bike Burbank)

 

If there’s any buzz about cycling in the Valley, it’s coming from Burbank.

While improvements may not be coming at a fast pace, the rest of the Valley looks glacial compared to the southeast corner.

A month ago, the bike lanes on Verdugo were extended both east and west adding almost a mile now stretching from Victory to Clybourn.

Even though this is just a small piece of the pie, CiclaValley really welcomes this addition.

This section west of Hollywood Way has always been awkward to ride because of its uncomfortable width.

Previously, if you rode just outside of the door zone, cars would still try to pass you on your left ignoring the three foot rule.

 

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If you put a bike lane up in Burbank, there must be an ordinance that you need to place a trash can there.

 

If you took the lane, cars would honk at you to move over not understanding that there wasn’t enough space for both.

Having this new lane gives order to the street and some much needed ease to passing through.

Unfortunately, this lanes ends right at the curve at the LA City border as Verdugo turns into Camarillo which is a narrow roadway that doesn’t feature any sidewalks (but it does include the Bing Crosby estate).

Mr. CV normally cuts over to Riverside at this point where he wishes there were bike lanes and questions the 40 mph speed limit.
But I digress….

Meanwhile on the east, Verdugo now connects to the lane that heads south on Main Street giving better connectivity to Griffith Park.

All this looks like you have the makings of a network, at least more so than other parts of the Valley, but of course, there are hitches.

There are sharrows on Verdugo at some of the transition areas, but that’s not the worst of this.

What looks wrong with this picture?

 

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No, that isn’t a truck blown up to twice its size, but a sharrow painted so close, it’s humorous.

Apparently, Burbank will fix

If you want to actually check out part of this stretch this weekend, Walk Bike Burbank is leading a ride that will include some stops at businesses since they’re so damn close.

They’ll be meeting up at Lincoln Park (Buena Vista & Verdugo) this Sunday at noon and will be accompanied by cycling instructors.

Come out to support this great group and RSVP on Facebook for more details.