As you may have been following, Reseda Boulevard, one of the Mayor’s 15 Great Streets, is getting some BIG upgrades! In a series of phased installations of marking, striping, and K-71 reflective bollards that constitute a very excitingly reconfigured street, last night, LADOT crews began putting in the some of the finishing touches – the frosting on the cake, if you will – with a splash of green!

These upgrades to safety and efficiency are on Reseda, between Plummer and Parthenia. The segment is the business corridor and the heart of the Northridge neighborhood. In addition to the City’s first parking-protected cycletrack, upgrades include new continental crosswalks, street furniture and a funky new sidewalk pattern to reflect the mid-century flagstone facades unique to the corridor!

Phase 1, the segment on the east side of Reseda Blvd between Rayen and Gresham, will be officially unveiled this Saturday, April 11th. A community workshop for Phase 2, which includes both sides of the street between Nordhoff and Gresham, will be held following the unveiling on Saturday from 10 am to 1 pm at Benjamin Moore Catalina Paints (more details here). Phase 2 upgrades will be installed from April to June, culminating in a final community event this summer.

To create a safer environment in the portions of the cycletrack where people on bikes will interact with people in cars, the design called for highlighting the conflict zones with green. These locations include driveways, bus stops, and right turn pockets.

Installation of the green thermoplastic is labor intensive and crews work at night when traffic volumes are low, in order to reduce conflicts with road users. Last night, work began at midnight for the LADOT crews, who travel from the Yard in Central Los Angeles with their equipment.

Around 1 am, Crews began cleaning and prepping the surface of the street, applying primer, and assembling pieces of the green thermoplastic, like a jigsaw puzzle.

The pieces were then trimmed.

And then came the torches! Thermoplastic is essentially highly durable colored plastic that needs to be melted onto the asphalt. The pieces were heated up and then blow torched, permanently affixing the color to the pavement.

The shift ended around 5 am this morning, completing the portion of the project between Gresham and Rayen.

Now, Reseda has officially been splashed with green! The remainder of the segment will be treated similarly, as Reseda transitions to a complete street.