an 8-mile bike path planned along the Los Angeles River a decade ago would close a crucial gap between existing paths lining LA’s concrete channelized waterway, and was supposed to be completed in time for the Olympics... then - politics happened

But, as the year nears a close, the bike path still isn’t open. In fact, construction hasn’t even started, and the environmental review process is still in the early stages. In the meantime, rising construction costs and other factors have increased the total project cost to approximately $1 billion. 3 times the original estimate

When completed, LA Metro’s LA River Path Project is slated to close “the largest remaining gap in the LA River Path network,” covering a crucial 8-mile stretch of the river that runs alongside downtown Los Angeles and neighborhoods that include Chinatown, the Arts District and Boyle Heights. The new path would serve key destinations such as Union Station and Los Angeles State Historic Park. Plans for the project include a path that’s 16 to 20 feet wide to accommodate walkers and bikers, new bridges, and paths along both the west and east sides of the river.

The bike path was initially touted as part of LA Metro’s Twenty-Eight by ’28 initiative, a list of 28 priority transportation projects the transit agency aims to complete before the 2028 Olympics come to Los Angeles. But the project has since been quietly removed from the list and replaced with other projects,

Approximately 76,000 people live within a half-mile walk of the Los Angeles River along the project corridor, and 1 million people live within biking distance of the project.

A key factor in the delay is bureaucratic wrangling over who will be in charge of operating and maintaining the path after it’s built. While LA Metro is handling the design and construction tasks related to the project, the agency doesn’t plan on being in charge afterward, and instead wants one of the agencies that holds a larger share of the project’s right-of-way (such as the city or county) to take charge.

https://www.sfgate.com/la/article/la-river-bike-path-delay-21141103.php