SAN FERNANDO : City Drafting Plan for Bike Path System

The city of San Fernando is drawing up plans to build a three-mile-long network of bicycle paths along two waterways and the Metrolink railroad tracks.

If planners have their way--and someone comes up with funding--paths will follow the Pacoima and East Canyon washes, linking a major shopping district on Foothill Boulevard with the downtown civic center and mall, said Jerry Wedding, San Fernando’s city engineer.

The effort to draft a master plan for bicycles comes a month after the MTA approved a $990,000 grant to construct a path for pedestrians and bicycles along the Metrolink rail line between Wolfskill and Hubbard streets.

“We wanted to expand on that and not make it serve just the Metrolink station,” said Wedding.

Wedding said he is unsure what the two miles of paths would cost, but said they could be as expensive as the mile-long Metrolink path, which includes fencing, lighting, traffic lights and landscaping.

“It’s a long-term plan,” said Wedding. “There’s no long-term funding set aside, but there are a lot of opportunities for funding for bicycles because of clean-air rules. This just positions us for future grant applications.”

The city of San Fernando would have to get right-of-way permission from Los Angeles, which controls the flood channels, said Wedding. Those decisions could be years away, he said.

The City Council will hold a hearing on the preliminary plan Monday at 7 p.m.