Union Street Protected Bike Lane Project Gets $5.6M From State

PASADENA, CA — Pasadena's Union Street Protected Bike Lane Project will get $5.6 million to help complete the 1.5-mile project thanks to the California Transportation Commission.

The money is part of a $32 million allocation of funds for transportation projects around Los Angeles County in the state's effort to fix and improve transportation infrastructure across California. Around $1.18 billion in total has been set aside for projects across the state.

“California has the most heavily traveled transportation system in the country,” California Department of Transportation Director Toks Omishakin said. “[The] investment will allow Caltrans to make critical repairs and upgrades to our state's roads and bridges, increase options for transit, rail, walking and biking and support thousands of jobs.”

The $5.6 million will be used to install a two-way protected bike lane on Union Street from Hill Avenue to Arroyo Parkway, according to Pasadena officials. Construction is expected to begin sometime in 2021 and will include removing one lane of traffic for the bike lane, installing new bicycle signals and placing protected left-turn areas for cars.

A bicycle boulevard will also be placed along Holliston Avenue to connect Union Street with the Cordova Street bike lanes.

The $32 million allocated for Los Angeles County will also go toward:

• $5 million to help purchase 20 buses that run on hydrogen in order to improve service frequency and establish a transit corridor from the Pomona Metrolink station to the El Monte Station.
• $1.6 million to install protected left-turn signals and make Americans with Disabilities Act upgrades along Las Flores Canyon Road in Malibu.
• $20.4 million to install new guardrails and storm water treatment along a portion of State Route 2 in the Angeles National Forest between Bay Tree Road and Big Pines Highway.

More than half of the total $1.18 billion allocated Thursday for transportation infrastructure projects was provided through Senate Bill 1, the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, according to Caltrans. The bill provides $5 billion each year, which is split between state and local agencies.

City News Service contributed to this report.