Culver City’s Renovated Culver Blvd Bikeway – Streetsblog Los Angeles

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Last week, Streetsblog had the chance to tour the newly reopened section of the Culver Boulevard bike path in Culver City. The renovated portion of the facility, half a mile long, stretches along the east side of Culver from Sepulveda Boulevard to Elenda Street. The northeastern end connects to the protected Elenda cycle route which opened in 2021. Located on a former Pacific Electric streetcar right-of-way, the trail continues southwest along Culver Boulevard for another mile and a half to McConnell Street in the LA City neighborhood of Del Rey.

Culver Boulevard’s recent biking, hiking, and landscaping improvements were part of the Culver Boulevard Realignment & Urban Stormwater Project urban project, which was completed earlier this year. According to the city’s website, that project:

  • continued the widening of Culver Blvd initiated by Caltrans in 2009 as part of the widening of the 405 Freeway (it is not clear where further widening occurred recently. That earlier widening – circa 2007-2008 – narrowed the bike/walk route median to widen the six-lane Culver Boulevard to eight lanes at Sepulveda. That lane configuration remains today. It appears the new project has added/widened median spaces, not spaces to drive.)
  • solved traffic problems, improved pedestrian safety and improved aesthetics
  • installed a raised bike path and walkway, landscaping and new median separating eastbound and westbound lanes from vehicular traffic
  • installed underground water features to retain stormwater and other urban runoff, both for infiltration and irrigation use

Frankly, the improvements to the bike path itself are no different day and night than what was there before.

Google Street View of Culver Boulevard median bike path in 2019
The ‘front’ view of the Culver Boulevard center cycle path in 2019 – via Google Street View

The surfaces of the paths have been renewed. The parallel decomposed granite footpath and the asphalt bicycle path are further separated from each other. The small architectural relics (from the 1928 Culver City City Hall building) are still there, in new display cases. There is new lighting and extensive new native landscaping – including the removal of some palm trees, replaced with shade trees.

Below are the project photos of Culver Boulevard taken last Friday afternoon.

Culver Boulevard Bike Path in Culver City
Culver Boulevard bike path from Culver City with new asphalt, new lighting and new landscape
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There are several concrete seats along the walking / cycling paths of Culver Boulevard
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Many people walk on the walking and cycling path, including many people who walk their dogs
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The renovated Culver Boulevard path features extensive native landscaping. Many existing mature shade trees were retained; many new shade trees were added.
The project included new benches (shade from nearby trees) at bus stops on Culver Boulevard
The project involved installing new benches (shade from nearby trees) at bus stops on Culver Boulevard
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The path has long featured a handful of decorative architectural forms salvaged from the now-demolished 1938 Culver City City Hall. These “relics” (as the signage calls them) have been preserved and reinstalled on new concrete display fixtures.
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More 1928 Culver City City Hall relics on display along the renovated Culver Boulevard walking/biking trail
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Most of the project’s watershed management features are underground, invisible to people walking, biking, driving buses, or driving on Culver. The only surface infiltration Streetsblog saw was a series of gaps in the curbs of the smaller new median strip separating eastbound and westbound lanes for car traffic. These ensure that rainwater penetrates the constructed median and sinks into the ground there.
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Schematic of the large underground water storage facility under Culver Boulevard. Water enters through storm drains, is then diverted, filtered and used for irrigation.

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