This unique photo set covers the Expo Phase 2 bike-and-jog trail between Motor and Overland Avenues, as well as some construction pics including the archaeological discovery of the Pacific Electric Santa Monica Air Line tracks from early 20th century.
The area where these bike-and-jog trail and Palms Overhead freeway rail undercrossing photos taken is the Forbidden Zone along the alignment where access is prohibited due to private ownership of the land and/or fencing. Therefore, it makes this photo set a unique set because few people get access to this area to take pictures. Our access was thanks to a LADOT tour of the Expo Line Phase 2 bike-and-jog trail. The design of the bike-and-jog trail will commence next week and LADOT will come up with several options to choose from in a few months.
The Expo bike-and-jog trail ends at Exposition and National Boulevards across the Palms Station because the bike-and-jog trail is at-grade but the line starts rising to a higher grade a few blocks west of Bagley Avenue. As a result, the section between Exposition/National Boulevards and Motor Avenue will be Class 2 (bike lanes and sidewalks). Since they cannot put the bike-and-jog trail through the Palms Overhead under the Santa Monica Freeway, as this tunnel is only 25-ft-wide and can barely allow the double tracks, a solution had to be found west of Motor Avenue. The solution is such that the bike-and-jog trail west of Motor Avenue and east of where Northvale Road makes a turn (half block east of Dunleer Drive -- Northvale Road west of this location was actually named Exposition Boulevard until 1960s) will be on the 75-ft-wide restricted-use easement between the Santa Monica Freeway and backyards of the houses.
This restricted-use easement is owned by the property owners but they are not allowed to build on it. City of Los Angeles will acquire part of the restricted-use easement to build the bike-and-jog trail there. The so-called Northvale 7 (seven of the houses of which backyards are adjacent to the easement) had sued the city and they recently reached a settlement with certain conditions.
However, it still won't be easy. The restricted-use easement has more than the maximally allowed 5% grade in certain sections. There are opposition to access points at Walavista Road and Old Motor Avenue and even on Northvale Road. The transition from the restricted-use easement to the railroad trench or street could be tricky. Access at the Dunleer Drive pedestrian bridge could be difficult to engineer. They don't know whether to put this Class 1 (secluded) bike-and-jog trail in the railroad trench or on the side of the street. Putting it on the trench could require expensive and ugly retaining walls unless it could be put adjacent to the track fence. (The minimum width allowed for the trail is 12 ft.) Loss of mature landscaping and aesthetics is a big concern, as currently this is the most beautiful section of the railroad. The budget is very limited and at the end, the cheapest practical and acceptable Class 1 solution will be the winner.
Photos were taken on Monday, December 9, 2013, during a guided tour by the LADOT bicycle director Michelle Mowery, which the homeowners also joined and they opened the several gates across the restricted-use easement that they own but aren't allowed to build on.
[You can access the full album
here (click All photos).]
The 75-ft-wide restricted-use easement is adjacent to the railroad right-of-way on the north west of Motor Avenue and east of Northvale Road / Northvale Road (formerly Exposition Boulevard / Northvale Road). The railroad right-of-way is 100-ft-wide. It's a sewer easement adjacent to the backyards. It's owned by homeowners but they aren't allowed to build on it. The following is an assessor's parcel map between Northvale Road / Northvale Road (formerly Exposition Boulevard / Northvale Road) and Walavista Road. Note the Palms Overhead northwestern tunnel portal in the map and that the restricted-use easement is adjacent to freeway east of the northwestern portal. Before they built the freeway in 1963, the restricted-use easement was adjacent to the 100-ft-wide railroad right-of-way in that section as well:
Looking east from Walavista Road toward Old Motor Avenue, the latter of which effectively became a driveway for the single home on that street:
Looking west from Walavista Road:
Walking further west through the gate put by the homeowner at the west side of Walavista Road cul-de-sac:
We run into another gate:
Looking east from this location:
Walking west with the bicycle director Michelle Mowery:
We came to the Palms Overhead northwestern portal:
Looking west along the railroad trench. Note that the railroad right-of-way west of this point follows the original Pacific Electric (Los Angeles & Independent Railroad before that) alignment. When they built the Santa Monica Freeway in 1963, they realigned the section by Motor Avenue. Originally the right-of-way passed on the north edge of the freeway on an old wooden bridge and it was adjacent to the restricted-use easement. When they built the freeway, they moved the bridge to the south side of the freeway (steel bridge that got recently torn down) and they passed the tracks under the freeway (through the 25-ft-wide Palms Overhead reinforced-concrete box structure) further ahead. The right-of-way has the original 100 ft width west of this point:
The section between the tracks and restricted-use easement:
Back to the restricted-use easement:
Further west, looking west, we are almost at the same level as the tracks. However, you can see thee grade coming ahead, which will be a problem:
And here we are already quite a bit above the tracks. You can see a new brick retaining wall they built:
lh3.googleusercontent.com/-OCI2pItHuhM/UqZOgzHnSpI/AAAAAAAANS4/ig2gdUoCWqQ/w1223-h694-no/IMG_4734-PANO.jpgThis is toward the west end of the restricted-use easement. There is a fence here:
This is where the restricted-use easement ends at Northvale Road / Northvale Road (formerly Exposition Boulevard / Northvale Road). The property owner at this west end of the restricted-use easement put this fancy gate and fencing here and he did a lot of improvement. One possibly is that this is where the bike-and-jog trail will join the Northvale Road and become an on-road but still Class 1 (secluded) trail:
lh4.googleusercontent.com/-DX-Pr2-vBcU/UqZLy4AvEFI/AAAAAAAAND8/EgvtXzPdumk/w1200-h900-no/IMG_4738.JPGLooking east from this point along the restricted-use easement:
The bike-and-jog trail will need to go around this mature tree:
Backyard fence of the property:
Walking east and looking east along the restricted-use easement, with backyards on the left:
Approaching Palms Overhead again:
Walking east:
Walking east:
Looking back west:
Back to Walavista Road, looking east:
Looking west from Walavista Road:
Looking south from Walavista Road to the restricted-use easement:
Google decided that it must snow here:
Further east, the restricted-use easement at Old Motor Avenue. Old Motor Avenue was the only street that existed here prior to 1930s when they build Motor Avenue to connect the MGM Studios in Culver City with the 20th Century Fox Studios in "Century" City. Currently Old Motor Avenue has one house on it and that house has no other access streets. This looking east along the restricted-used easement with lemons on the ground:
Looking west over the fence toward Walavista Road:
Looking east along the restricted-use easement at Old Motor Avenue:
Looking east along the restricted-use easement at Old Motor Avenue. Motor Avenue is slightly further east, where the bike-and-jog trail will begin. No man must have entered this area in 50 years since the construction of the Santa Monica Freeway:
This is where the bike-and-jog trail will start -- exactly through these bushes a few yards north of the northwest corner of the Santa Monica Freeway and Motor Avenue:
Moving all the way to the west end of the restricted-use easement, this is at Northvale Road / Northvale Road (formerly Exposition Boulevard / Northvale Road), where the restricted-use easement ends:
Looking northwest from the Dunleer Drive pedestrian bridge:
Looking southeast from the pedestrian bridge:
No restricted-use easement here but on the left side is a possible place for the bike-and-jog trail:
No restricted-use easement here but on the the right side is a possible place for the bike-and-jog trail:
North side of the right-of-way where the bike-and-jog trail could be as viewed from the pedestrian bridge:
North side of the right-of-way, where the bike-and-jog trail could go, as viewed from the Northvale Road fence:
North side of the right-of-way, where the bike-and-jog trail could go, as viewed from the Northvale Road fence. The tracks are above street level at this location:
Pointless sound walls, as they will only amplify the sound going over the wall to the houses sitting higher than the tracks:
Tracks curving toward Overland Avenue:
Tracks curving toward Palms Park:
This concludes Part 1, which mostly focused on the bike-and-jog trail on the restricted-use easement and the Palms Overhead reinforced-concrete box structure for the rail tracks under the Santa Monica Freeway.