By Jason Islas
Staff Writer

November 25, 2013 -- Santa Monica will likely see its network of green bike lanes expand if the City Council approves a half-million dollar contract Tuesday for Chrisp Company to build them.

While Broadway and Main Street, the two bike thoroughfares identified by City Hall for the project, already have bike lanes, officials hope that the new bright green lanes will improve visibility and make riding along those streets more comfortable for cyclists.

“The Main Street and Broadway Green Bike Lane Project takes place on Main Street between Colorado Avenue and Ozone Avenue and on Broadway between 6th Street and Centinela Avenue,” officials said.

The new project will add an additional three miles of green bike lanes to the City's network, which already contains about half a mile of “green street” in Santa Monica's Ocean Park neighborhood.

Early this year, City Hall completed a $4 million project that added green bike lanes, trees, benches and improved drainage to the stretch of Ocean Park Boulevard between Lincoln Boulevard and Neilson Way. (“Santa Monica's Streets Are Paved with Green,” January 17, 2013)

While, at a price of $532,852, the Broadway and Main Street projects won't be as comprehensive as the Ocean Park “green street” project, they advance the goals of Santa Monica's Bike Action Plan, adopted two years ago this month. (“Santa Monica Adopts New Bike Action Plan,” November 24, 2011)

“Among the recommendations approved in the Bicycle Action Plan were infrastructure improvements to create visible, wider, green bikeways on Broadway and Main/2nd Streets, implementing a visible 'green cross' of buffered bike lanes along the most heavily used bikeways in the city and providing good links to all other bikeways and destinations,” staff said.

And, residents can expect the another similar project in the near future.

“Plans for green bike lanes on 2nd Street between Colorado Avenue and California Avenue have been developed but will be implemented after the repaving of 2nd Street, which was deferred to accommodate completion of Parking Structure 6,” staff said.

City Hall recently announced that Parking Structure 6, which has been offline for about a year now for a major overhaul, will likely be operational before the end of the year, opening up more than 700 parking spaces for Downtown Santa Monica. (“Steer Clear of Second Street in Downtown Santa Monica Tuesday, Officials Say,” October 29, 2013)

As for the Broadway and Main Street green bike lanes, if the Council approves the contract Tuesday night, construction is slated to start by mid-January and would finish up, if all goes according to schedule by the end of March.