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City allocates funds for bicycle parking
Council hopes approval of 100 spots for bikes to be installed at Downtown Metrolink Station will encourage people to ride.
By Jeremy Oberstein
CITY HALL — By a unanimous vote, the Burbank City Council approved more than $150,000 in state and local funds to construct a bike parking station at the Downtown Metrolink Station.
Burbank secured more than $138,000 from the California Department of Transportation’s bicycle fund and will pitch in with about $14,000 of city funds for up to 100 bike parking spots at the train station, said David Kriske, Burbank senior planner.
The station has eight locks for bikes, and a waiting list leaves most people without the opportunity to secure their two-wheeled mode of transportation, he said.
The new parking station will allow commuters to store their bicycles in a covered, secure location that will be used by several train riders, Kriske said.
“We see a fairly good demand for people taking the train and using bikes to get to their ultimate destination,” he said.
The vote continues the city’s implementation of the Bicycle Master Plan, a 2003 document that calls for bicycle travel to be “an integral part of daily life in Burbank, particularly for trips of less than five miles.”
By increasing the amount of bike lanes, making bicycling safer and improving bicycle transit, officials hope that bicycle riding accounts for 5% of all transportation in Burbank by 2025.
There are multiple benefits to bicycling within the city, Public Works Director Bonnie Teaford said.
“All it takes is human power,” she said. “By bicycling, we can provide alternatives that benefit the environment, benefit our health and reduce traffic congestion.”
The city has 16 miles of bike lanes, but it is still too early to tell if the increase has reduced traffic, she said.
But the master plan has increased the amount of projects the city has undertaken, Kriske said.
Those include installing loop detection devices at intersections and cameras that can see when a bike approaches.
“We have loops, similar to ones that cars roll over to alert the signal they are there, that can now recognize bikes,” he said. “We have also installed cameras and push buttons for bikes, similar to pedestrian walkways.”
A camera for bikes is now up at Orange Grove Avenue and Third Street, and a loop has been installed at the Orange Grove and Glenoaks Boulevard crossing, he said.
“A good bike system is a good amenity of a fully developed city,” Kriske said. “Burbank is at an advantage when it pursues these forms of alternative transportation.”
Part of that advantage is economical.
About 90% of the money that Burbank uses for bike improvements comes from federal grants, and 10% comes from the County of Los Angeles, Kriske said.
“Basically 100% of the funding comes from outside money,” he said.
“There is some city funds used for some things; we don’t spend too much of our own money. It’s relatively cheap when compared to building freeways or widening roadways.”
While Kriske extolled the virtues of the bicycle master plan, increasing the amount of bike lanes has not been without its critics.
In 2006, a plan to install a bike path in a neighborhood along Spark Street and Beachwood Drive was opposed by residents in that area who felt that putting a bike path on residential streets would increase crime and be detrimental to motorists’ safety.
Part of the money allotted for that project will instead be used for the bike lanes at the train station, the total cost of which will be about $300,000, Kriske said.
JEREMY OBERSTEIN covers City Hall and public safety. He may be reached at (818) 637-3242 or by e-mail at jeremy.oberstein@ latimes.com.
Burbank secured more than $138,000 from the California Department of Transportation’s bicycle fund and will pitch in with about $14,000 of city funds for up to 100 bike parking spots at the train station, said David Kriske, Burbank senior planner.
The station has eight locks for bikes, and a waiting list leaves most people without the opportunity to secure their two-wheeled mode of transportation, he said.
The new parking station will allow commuters to store their bicycles in a covered, secure location that will be used by several train riders, Kriske said.
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The vote continues the city’s implementation of the Bicycle Master Plan, a 2003 document that calls for bicycle travel to be “an integral part of daily life in Burbank, particularly for trips of less than five miles.”
By increasing the amount of bike lanes, making bicycling safer and improving bicycle transit, officials hope that bicycle riding accounts for 5% of all transportation in Burbank by 2025.
There are multiple benefits to bicycling within the city, Public Works Director Bonnie Teaford said.
“All it takes is human power,” she said. “By bicycling, we can provide alternatives that benefit the environment, benefit our health and reduce traffic congestion.”
The city has 16 miles of bike lanes, but it is still too early to tell if the increase has reduced traffic, she said.
But the master plan has increased the amount of projects the city has undertaken, Kriske said.
Those include installing loop detection devices at intersections and cameras that can see when a bike approaches.
“We have loops, similar to ones that cars roll over to alert the signal they are there, that can now recognize bikes,” he said. “We have also installed cameras and push buttons for bikes, similar to pedestrian walkways.”
A camera for bikes is now up at Orange Grove Avenue and Third Street, and a loop has been installed at the Orange Grove and Glenoaks Boulevard crossing, he said.
“A good bike system is a good amenity of a fully developed city,” Kriske said. “Burbank is at an advantage when it pursues these forms of alternative transportation.”
Part of that advantage is economical.
About 90% of the money that Burbank uses for bike improvements comes from federal grants, and 10% comes from the County of Los Angeles, Kriske said.
“Basically 100% of the funding comes from outside money,” he said.
“There is some city funds used for some things; we don’t spend too much of our own money. It’s relatively cheap when compared to building freeways or widening roadways.”
While Kriske extolled the virtues of the bicycle master plan, increasing the amount of bike lanes has not been without its critics.
In 2006, a plan to install a bike path in a neighborhood along Spark Street and Beachwood Drive was opposed by residents in that area who felt that putting a bike path on residential streets would increase crime and be detrimental to motorists’ safety.
Part of the money allotted for that project will instead be used for the bike lanes at the train station, the total cost of which will be about $300,000, Kriske said.
JEREMY OBERSTEIN covers City Hall and public safety. He may be reached at (818) 637-3242 or by e-mail at jeremy.oberstein@ latimes.com.
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