With automobile traffic down due to the COVID-19 stay-at-home order, the City of Los Angeles took the opportunity to resurface the stretch of 7th Street between the Financial District and the Historic Core.  When that fresh pavement is restriped in the coming weeks, it will come with a treat for cyclists.

In a virtual presentation given on May 6, staffers from the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) outlined plans to install temporary protected bike lanes along the .6 miles of 7th Street between Figueroa and Main Streets.  Installation of the project, scheduled to begin on May 13, will add new plastic bollards along the length of the corridor to separate the bike lanes from vehicle travel lanes.  Additionally, the project will consolidate several bus stops to create longer stretches of contiguous protected bike lanes and convert some metered parking into vehicle loading zones.

LADOT officials also unveiled plans to install a parklet at the southwest corner of 7th and Hope Streets adjacent to The Bloc.  Installation of that feature, designed by Studio One Eleven, is scheduled to occur in August.

The 7th Street bike lanes will serve as a direct connection between existing bicycle infrastructure running along Figueroa, Spring, and Main Streets.  The completed project will result in a contiguous stretch of protected bike lanes between the University Park neighborhood and Union Station. 

Installation of permanent protected bike lanes is scheduled to follow in 2021 - a project that was funded in part through public benefits payments from the Wilshire Grand development.  That project, in addition to providing more secure infrastructure, would also provide dedicated signals for transitioning between the 7th Street bike lanes and those on Spring and Main.

Additional funding for the project was provided via revenue from the City's dockless mobility pilot program.  Although scooters have largely disappeared from City streets during the COVID-19 pandemic, LADOT officials noted that the 7th Street corridor sees the highest frequency of scooter usage in Los Angeles.

For more coverage of the 7th Street bike lanes, visit Streetsblog.