Eyes on the Street: Arroyo Seco Bike Path Repaired

Northeast Los Angeles’ Arroyo Seco walk-bike path is repaired and back open for cyclists and pedestrians.

The 2.1-mile Arroyo Seco path extends from the Montecito Heights Recreation Center to Arroyo Seco Park at the border of the cities of L.A. and South Pasadena. Unique among southern California multi-use paths, which are typically located along the top of channel walls, the Arroyo Seco path is located in the bed of the concrete channel. During rainy weather, the path is closed to the public.

Just over a year ago, the path was damaged by a rain storm. A ~10-foot-long slab of concrete broke and dislodged. Though the path remained fairly easily passable on foot, the city and county locked the gates, barring folks from accessing the facility.

In late January and earlier this month, the city Bureau of Street Services and Department of Transportation posted social media images showing that the path was being repaired.

Thank you to @BSSLosAngeles for working to repair the the Arroyo Seco Bike Path that was damaged during last year's rainy season. #MovingLAForward #BikeLA #TeamWork pic.twitter.com/iNwtqrJufy — LADOT Livable Streets (@LADOTlivable) February 6, 2020

Streetsblog editor Joe Linton got a chance to ride the reopened path last weekend (and will soon add it to SBLA’s list of transit-friendly bikeways.)

It is sad – and a testament to how low a priority bicyclists and pedestrians are to the city of L.A. – that it took more that a year for the city to complete these repairs. Can anyone imagine drivers waiting this long for L.A. to repair an impassable roadway?

The good news is that the Arroyo Seco path is now back open for use.