(Bottom photo courtesy of David Graham-Caso.)
These two photos were taken of the bike path last Monday as a result of comments from County Department of Beaches and Harbors and the council office.
The story “Singing the ‘Bike Path Blues'” was a heart-felt plea by author Nick Antonicello to get the bike path cleaned and keep it clean. The photos were taken earlier in the year and after a wind storm but Nick’s desire and thoughts were all still valid.
Many in Venice do not have cars. Their only means of transportation is their bike and many of those people use the bike path as their means to get to and from work. Others-residents and visitors– keep the path busy daily. Any bike rider knows that sand, such as shown in above photos, is dangerous. One must be extremely cautious. The path was not designed for racing. In most areas the sand is higher than the bike path, which makes it particularly vulnerable to the wind. People are continuously walking across the path and tracking the sand.
Beloved Path
The beloved path is approximately 20 miles long and goes from Will Rogers State Park on the north to Torrance County Beach in Torrance on the south. It goes thru Santa Monica, Venice, Marina del Rey, El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach to Torrance.
David Graham-Caso contacted the Update first. He provided a photo of the bike path last Monday. Update had just gotten back from taking a photo too after talking with Carol Baker, Division Chief for Community and Marketing Services for County Department of Beaches and Harbors.
Baker said Beaches and Harbors was not in charge of the bike path but felt the problem shown in previous issue had been fixed months before. The bike path is under the jurisdiction of County Public Works, formerly Department of Public Works.
It is a strange world at the “beach.” County Beaches and Harbors handles the sand and the parking lots. City Recreation and Parks handles the bathrooms, the grassy knolls, the Windward park area and the Ocean Front Walk. County Public Works handles the bike path.
Baker directed the Update to contact Bob Spencer, chief of public affairs for the county public works department.
Public Works Cleans Path
“We clean the bike path three times a week from Memorial Day to Labor Day” Spencer said in a good-natured way. “One time is on Sunday and another is probably Friday because of weekend traffic.
“Foot traffic and the wind create sand on the path. People walk from the knolls onto the path and knock down the sand. People kick sand from off the beach. The path is constantly on our radar screen to make sure there isn’t a problem. The county is in charge of the sand and the city is in charge of the knolls. We take care of what is between-the bike path.”
Spencer sent Update to Allan Abramson the man in charge of the path. From Memorial Day to Labor Day the path gets three sweeps a week; out of season, two sweeps.
Cleaned Three Times a Week During Summer
“The Marvin Braude bike path is swept three times a week during the summer season,” according to Allan Abramson, senior civil engineer for County Public Works and man in charge of keeping path clean. “The sweeper is on the bike path five days a week, sweeping various sections of the bike path to complete 3 sweepings each week.
“An additional sweeper is utilized to complete the third sweeping with one covering the bike path north of Grand Ave in Manhattan Beach and the other the south portion of the bike path. Our sweeping operators start between 2 and 3 am in order to complete their work early and limit the inconvenience to bike path users.
“Non-residential areas are swept in the early hours and residential areas such as Venice and Manhattan Beach later to limit any noise disturbance to the residents along the bike path. The Venice area is swept on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays.”
Contact Info for Problems
But if there are problems David Graham-Caso of the council office wrote:
Please encourage your readers to keep sending us service requests via our website at www.11thdistrict.com so we can make sure Venice receives the care and attention it deserves. Even if the service request is for something like the bike path (which isn’t technically in the City’s jurisdiction), we are always happy to work with our colleagues at other levels of government to make Venice clean, safe and inviting for both residents and visitors.
Nick Antonicello is absolutely right. I’ve ridden the path many, many times and recently inspected it.
The design of the Braude Bike path at that point depends upon the integrity of the knolls to hold sand back from the path. No amount of sweeping will overcome the fact that the knolls are severely degraded — its like bailing water out of a sinking ship. The city needs to take action to clear the knolls, water and re-sod. No doubt the drought has taken its toll on this area, but the difficulty involved with relocating the many tent-dwellers who make their “homes” on this stretch of city park probably has something to do with this, too.
It seems the only time the City takes any interest in this section of the path is when Mr. Bonin is looking to dump a homeless storage container right alongside it, where it poses a safety risk. I’m grateful we were able to put an end to that idea; it’s time for the 11th Council District to step up and ensure that the knolls — which are clearly their responsibility and belong to all of us — are properly cared for.
This response by the City is less than honest and does not address the specific issue of knoll remediation between the pedestrian path and the bike path.
No one is questioning the sweeping of the path, the issue is remediating the knolls which neither the City of Los Angeles nor the County will address due to probably the cost.
My original request for the City and the County to fix the problem rather then the traditional finger-pointing is disappointing.
According to the County and specifically the Third District Supervisor’s Office as well as Beaches & Harbors is that while the maintenance of the actual bike path is a county responsibility, the grassy knolls (now no longer green or grassy) are the responsibility of the City and in particular the 11th Council District Office which continues to avoid the issue through silence and inaction!
It is the grassy knolls that need remediation. This point has been made consistently over the past year in dozens of email and requests to the 11th Council District Office that for the most part go unanswered and ignored.
I urge residents to inspect the knolls for yourself. I have photos and videos reflective of a problem the 11th District Council Office refuses to acknowledge exists and that’s too bad.
When a rider or bicyclist is hurt because of the unbridled sand that accumulates on the bike path, there will be plenty of evidence the problem for the most part continues to go ignored. Feel free to contact me should you like additional photos or videos and I’ll be glad to supply that information to you.
If elected officials can’t do something this remedial, how can anyone expect these individuals to attack and solve the truly pressing issues at Venice Beach that need solving?