Five great DTLA streets for a Metro Bike Share ride

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Metro Bike Share is a great new way to get around DTLA. Join the party and buy a pass at metro.net/bikeshare. Once you have a pass, go to one of the dozens of Metro Bike Share stations in DTLA to get a bike, ride to your destination, and dock it. That’s it! No traffic, no parking, no drama. Starting August 1st you can also walk up to the kiosk to buy a single use pass without a TAP Card.

You may wonder, especially if you haven’t been on a bike in a while, what is the best route to take through the bustling streets of Downtown?  We have put together a list of our favorite streets to bike on just for you! We also recommend consulting your favorite map app for biking directions or checking out the Metro Bike Map to make use of all the Metro Bike stations.

1.) Los Angeles Street Protected Bike Lane (from Alameda to 1st Street)

DTLA’s first protected bike lane opened on Los Angeles Street earlier this year. Along the route, stop at the beautiful, historic Union Station, a rare example of Moderne, Art Deco and Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, and hub of the city and region’s transit system. Across the street, get refueled and take in some Los Angeles history at El Pueblo and Olvera Street (where taquitos were invented!). Further south on the route quizzically marvel at the Triforium, a six-story, 60-ton public sculpture created by artist Joseph Young.

Metro Bike stations are located along the route at:

  • Union Station West
  • Los Angeles and Temple

2.) Spring and Main Buffered Bike Lanes (from Cesar Chavez to 17th Street)

This route goes directly through the Historic Core and includes Spring Street Park, Los Angeles City Hall, the Fashion District, California Market Center and the Cooper Design Space. A jewel of the area is LA’s first high rise building and filming location of Blade Runner and many other Hollywood flicks, the 1893 Bradbury Building.

Metro Bike stations are located along the route at:

  • 1st and Main
  • 3rd and Spring
  • 3rd and Main
  • 5th and Main
  • 6th and Main
  • 7th and Main
  • 7th and Spring
  • Main and Olympic

3.) Grand Avenue and Olive Street Bike Lanes (from 7th Street to Washington Blvd)

Use Grand Avenue southbound and Olive Street northbound to move between the Financial District and the booming South Park neighborhood on these mostly buffered bike lanes. On the north end make sure to stop by some of the amazing cafés along 7th Street for a tasty bite. Riding south, check out the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising and the adjacent Grand Hope Park for a nap in the grass under the trees. On the southern end of the route, learn how to weld, or master a whole list of trades (bicycle repair anyone?) at Los Angeles Trade Tech.

Metro Bike stations are located along the route at:

  • 8th and Olive
  • 9th and Grand
  • 12th and Grand
  • 14th and Grand
  • Washington and Grand

4.) 1st Street Bike Lanes (from Figueroa Street to San Pedro Street)

The 1st Street bike lanes provide a comfortable way to ride between the symphony at Disney Concert Hall and sushi in Little Tokyo. Relax on the massive lawns of Grand Park taking in the views of the Downtown skyline, or grab lunch at the Tuesday farmers’ market. See the Los Angeles Times Building before heading east to the delicious cuisine and shops of Little Tokyo.

Metro Bike stations are located along the route at:

  • 8th and Olive
  • 1st and Main
  • 1st and San Pedro

5.) Mateo and Santa Fe (from 1st Street to 7th Street)

These two calm and safe to ride streets come together to form the spine of the Arts District and are an easy option to ride from north to south. The route includes One Santa Fe (by famed architect Michael Maltzan), The Southern California Institute of Architecture and the artsy-est shops, restaurants, coffee houses and bookstores in DTLA. As you ride keep an eye out for the always-evolving murals.

Metro Bike stations are located along the route at:

  • 3rd and Santa Fe
  • Willow and Mateo
  • Industrial and Mateo
  • 3rd and Rose 

This post is for route planning purposes only. Metro is not responsible for final route choice or selection.

Categories: Bicycle, Projects

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7 replies ›

  1. They really need to work on the east-west connections, apart from 1st there aren’t any protected or buffered bike lanes running east-west between Fig and Main (or Alameda, or the river).

    • Also we need a southbound bike lane on the west side of downtown. We have a northbound bike lane on Fig, but no southbound bike lanes west of Broadway. I know the MyFig project will solve that problem south of 7th Street, but what about us office workers north of 7th?

  2. If Grand Park is such an important destination for Bike Share why didn’t you install a dock at the park? And there aren’t any docks near Disney Hall or the Courthouse either.
    Also,why don’t you take advantage of the bike lane on Figueroa by installing docks near the high-rises that line Figueroa between 3rd and 6th? We office workers appreciate the docks at the train stations, but if you don’t place docks near our offices we can’t use the system.
    I hope you’re looking at these locations for near-term expansion of the system.

    • We are currently working with Grand Park on a station. We plan to continue to install stations after launch as construction schedules allow and as requested by the community. Due to a great amount of construction in DTLA (including the My Figueroa project) we are holding back some of the 65 stations until later in the summer to ensure the placement of key station locations. These stations will be brought online on a rolling basis.

  3. Dave, you need to get you Helmet on!
    On today’s LA Times, you don’t have your helmet on!