Los Angeles County will soon begin an ambitious repair program of damaged bike paths between Torrance and Playa del Rey. The bike trails along the stretch of coastal California have been in bad shape for a while now. For bicyclists, the damaged trails have meant an increased risk of bike accidents.
The trail covers a 22-mile stretch between Torrance and Will Rogers State Beach in Pacific Palisades. In September, a repair program planned by Los Angeles County will begin. Repairs will include reconstruction of parts of the bike paths with fresh concrete, and smoothing over of patches at Dockweiler State Beach.
Authorities have already begun alerting bicyclists to the repair program by placing orange cones on the paths. The work is officially expected to commence on September 12. The program will continue over the next two months. The authorities want to have the bike paths fixed and ready to use before the Labor Day traffic, when bicyclist volumes are expected to increase. The repairs will cost $400,000 in just the first phase of the program. The second phase will be initiated later.
Obviously, the repairs have been welcomed by the local bicycling community and Los Angeles bicycle accident lawyers, but what would be even better would be maintenance programs that continue even after the fresh biking trails are laid out.
Bicycle safety is an important issue during the summer months, when ridership typically increases. Most bicycle accidents occur because of the negligence of motorists, who fail to look out for bikers. However, bike accidents can also occur because of the lack of bike paths or the unsafe condition of existing biking paths. Cracked asphalt, potholes, and debris can greatly increase a bicyclist’s risk of an accident
