Bike Travel in the SFV — Reseda
Reseda is a big one and has really gotten much better over the last 10 years or so. You can get from Sesnon and Rinaldi in the north*. You can hit Chase in the middle. You can hit the Orange Line Bike Path on the south. If you are adventurous, you can take it all the way South to Dirt Mulholland and do a promute into the city!
Think about this for a moment: the whole length of the Valley is covered from mountain to mountain with bike lanes almost the entire way. No wonder Reseda was named a Great Street!
Reseda has one fantastic part and one really crummy part. The fantastic part is the parking separated cycletrack between Parthenia and Plummer. In fact, this is the first one EVER in the City of Los Angeles. It is an absolute joy — green painted lanes, bollards, signs telling cars to yield — the whole nine yards. I mean, it is so good, that it makes the rest of Reseda feels really bad in comparison.
The really bad part is a sharrowed section between Valerio and Vanowen. It’s so bad, it makes the rest of Reseda feel really great in comparison. It is so bad, I once got pulled over by a cop for blocking traffic while I was literally riding over a sharrow. I fought it (and won!), but it forever convinced me of the uselessness of the sharrow. It’s almost worth taking Chase over to White Oak to avoid this patch.
- Reseda’s bike lanes completely disappear over the 118 freeway between Rinaldi and San Fernando Mission. Luckily, there is a fun shortcut! Headed north, turn right on San Fernando Mission, then left on Etiwanda and take the foot bridge over the 118. Much better views and way more comfortable.
Bike Friendly Connections: Sesnon, Rinaldi, Devonshire, Plummer (east), Chase, Orange Line Bike Path, Caballero Canyon Trail (dirt), Mulholland (dirt)
Notable Locales: Wilbur Tampa Park, Eddleston Park, Rinaldi Park, Darby Avenue Charter School, Northridge-Reseda Shopping Center, Northridge Park, CSUN, Cycle World Bike Shop, Northridge Hospital, Epicenter of the Northridge Earthquake, Reseda Park, Reseda High School, Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies, Providence Tarzana Medical Center, Mecca Avenue Park, Topanga Canyon State Park
