City to Paint Bicycle Lanes Along Boulevard

SILVER LAKE — Drawing praise from bicyclists and environmentalists, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation has agreed to reverse itself and paint bike lanes along a stretch of Silver Lake Boulevard.

The department had inadvertently striped center turn-left lanes for car traffic along the boulevard, said Los Angeles City Council member Jackie Goldberg. Some area residents complained that this prevented street space for bike lanes called for in a city master plan.

Under an agreement reached last week, the Department of Transportation will remove center turn lanes except at busy intersections and will add bike lane stripes along the boulevard from Duane Street to Berkeley Avenue, officials said.

Ron Milam, director of the nonprofit LA County Bicycle Coalition, applauded the department’s decision. He said that bike lanes would encourage local residents to leave their cars at home when shopping or dining locally.