Arroyo Seco Parkway - Walkway

[sdmichael]

Today, I walked with a friend along the Arroyo Seco Parkway from Ave 20 to Bishops Road (Stadium Way). I took lots of photos and saw more of the tunnels and bridges than I ever expected possible. I stood at the 110NB/5NB ramp, stood atop many of the tunnels, and I even managed a photo of one of the dedication plaques on a tunnel. I'll be working on posting photos soon of my adventure both on my travel blog (cxmichael.blogspot.com) and on my scvresources.com website (most likely a separate page off of my Route 110 page). It was lots of fun and I highly recommend taking the walk if you have the chance.

[Alps]

So, could you explain a little how what you did was legal and how you stayed out of traffic? I'm not seeing anything resembling a walkway after the northernmost viaduct ends at the first tunnel.

[NE2]

Probably climbed up the hillside. It's a city park there.

[J N Winkler]

I have never hiked around the Figueroa tunnels, but I have done bridge shots from overpasses and side shots from the adjoining parklands.  It is all a question of finding parking and dealing with the lack of sidewalks on overpasses.  As NE2 says, a considerable length of the Arroyo Seco lies within a city park--the parkway was initially planned in the 1920's, at a time when California did not have an access control law, so part of the purpose of the park as originally planned was to ensure a form of access control.

With a new concrete median barrier and fresh retroreflective guide signing, I imagine the Arroyo Seco looks much cleaner now than it did when I visited it in 2002.  At that time it looked dilapidated, with a badly dimpled center steel barrier, dirty signs (sign cleaning was abandoned in the 1970's as an economy measure), ugly chain-mesh fencing, and really obtrusive graffiti screening and barbed wire on sign structures.  (I suspect the last two items are still in place, though.)

[sdmichael]

There is a walkway alongside the NB lanes from Ave 20 to the 5NB offramp, then a spiral staircase, then a walkway alongside the SB lanes to Bishops Road.

[sdmichael]

And the link:

http://www.socalregion.com/highways/la_highways/arroyo_seco_walkways/

Enjoy! I know I did.

[flowmotion]

And the link:

http://www.scvresources.com/highways/la_highways/arroyo_seco_walkways/

Enjoy! I know I did.

Awesome -- I've always wondered if that spiral staircase was still accessible. I'll have to check out this area in person the next time I'm in Los Angeles.

[sdmichael]

With a new concrete median barrier and fresh retroreflective guide signing, I imagine the Arroyo Seco looks much cleaner now than it did when I visited it in 2002.  At that time it looked dilapidated, with a badly dimpled center steel barrier, dirty signs (sign cleaning was abandoned in the 1970's as an economy measure), ugly chain-mesh fencing, and really obtrusive graffiti screening and barbed wire on sign structures.  (I suspect the last two items are still in place, though.)

Actually, sign cleaning does still happen, or at least did as late as the early 2000's. I saw it being done on I-5 in Santa Clarita.