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San Gabriel River Trail - Safe ??

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San Gabriel River Trail - Safe ??

Old 08-20-19, 08:18 PM
  #51  
TrojanHorse
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Actually the WORST is when some triathlon uses the SGRT as part of their course - the riders seem to think that makes it a closed course for them.

There are idiots everywhere, not just on the trails. Be the person your dog thinks you are.
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Old 08-25-19, 07:49 PM
  #52  
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Originally Posted by mr335
Sunday the 18th @ 8:17 AM College Park West: There is no Trail Etiquette on the San Gabriel River " making riding on it unsafe , people need to be reminded that when passing the lead rider not the rider 5 guys back to give notice .I,m moving along @ 20 mph when suddenly 4 guys pass dong 26 mph or better , the 5th or 6th guy yells " on your left , the next dozen or so are riding tandem bumping me as on coming traffic are scrambling to get out of the way , now i look and were approaching College park West moving southbound the trail drops 20ft to the right then left under the freeway its dark you can see day light but all i see is back wheels in the air and the dozen riders that passed me moving 26 mph or better crash into on coming traffic , people are hurt , hurt bad once again trail Etiquette , I see the Lead rider of this group an 5 or 6 guys riding up the embankment on the other side of the tunnel , total disregard for other cyclist , The San Gabriel River Trail is Unsafe watch out for groups of knuckle heads racing on the San Gabriel River Trail
Ive been riding the SGRT for over 35 years now, back then the trail wasnt completely connected and on the busy streets you had to cross over the bridges and scoot past cars like a game of Frogger. There were No underpasses and the road surface was horrible with packed dirt on some spots. It was completely Unsafe many decades ago.

Is it a perfect riding paradise,, far from it. But its come along way since the early 80's.

I ride it almost daily and I haul ass on it. I give plenty heads ups, ring my bell and ALWAYS call "on your left" when passing riders. On saturday I almost ran into a group of young teen boys on beach cruisers riding all over the bike trail. I came along side and gave them a stern warning to ride on the Right ONLY.

Instead of getting irate , let people know how to ride correctly,,most of them are a bunch of Noobs out there completely clueless.
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Old 09-16-19, 07:51 AM
  #53  
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PSA: small sink hole, northbound trailside, north of 405 overpass.

In the last couple of months this hole has grown enough to hurt a rider. As of yesterday it is 18" diameter and 6" deep. Its only a foot or so into the trailside border.

2 months ago I rolled through when a rider cut across my path into the rest area and I had to avoid him.
It was less than 3" deep at that time.

Not sure whom to call, either Long Beach Bike Coordinator, or LA County PW BC.
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Old 09-16-19, 08:11 AM
  #54  
eja_ bottecchia
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Originally Posted by TrojanHorse
Actually the WORST is when some triathlon uses the SGRT as part of their course - the riders seem to think that makes it a closed course for them.

There are idiots everywhere, not just on the trails. Be the person your dog thinks you are.
I could never, ever, be the person my dogs think I am.

That standard is way too high to meet.
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Old 09-16-19, 09:40 AM
  #55  
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Originally Posted by marquhar
PSA: small sink hole, northbound trailside, north of 405 overpass... Not sure whom to call, either Long Beach Bike Coordinator, or LA County PW BC.
Thanks for the heads up.

Recommend contacting several agencies as it's never clear which has jurisdiction or which will take responsibility / act. That portion of the trail is said to be jointly maintained by the City of Long Beach and the LADPW. The third entity could be L.A. Co. Dept. of Public Works.

An email or online submission with a photo or two helps get the point across, as does expressing that this is a safety hazard that has already led to injury of at least one cyclist and suggesting that they fix it quickly to avoid "additional injuries and liability." They tend to act a lot quicker when reminded of their potential to be at financial risk.

Last edited by toegnix; 09-16-19 at 09:41 AM. Reason: Added quote
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Old 09-16-19, 10:15 AM
  #56  
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Indeed. We got CalTrans to replace a wheel-eating grate ASAP when we sent them this picture. Fortunately it was a rear wheel so the rider was not seriously hurt!

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Old 11-18-19, 03:28 PM
  #57  
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Originally Posted by marquhar
PSA: small sink hole, northbound trailside, north of 405 overpass.

In the last couple of months this hole has grown enough to hurt a rider. As of yesterday it is 18" diameter and 6" deep. Its only a foot or so into the trailside border.

2 months ago I rolled through when a rider cut across my path into the rest area and I had to avoid him.
It was less than 3" deep at that time.

Not sure whom to call, either Long Beach Bike Coordinator, or LA County PW BC.
The hole has been filled in. They did a good job but not a great one.
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Old 11-18-19, 03:30 PM
  #58  
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Although not exactly on the SGRT, North of the steel bridge on the Coyote Creek portion of the trail, under the 605 overpass there seems to be a small group that's been growing. I'm not sure if it's more people but they brought a ton of trash with them.
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Old 11-26-19, 11:36 AM
  #59  
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Originally Posted by catgita
I have always felt safe there during daylight on weekends end to end, and the mix of people using the trail seems to suggest many people do. Everyone is quick to offer help if you have a mechanical. North of Cerritos at night seems iffy, especially between Whittier Narrows and Santa Fe dam. I have done it at night, nothing happened, but people stared at me. Maybe my lights made me look like a cop.
The full route from Seal Beach, to the Dam ?
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Old 12-27-19, 07:04 PM
  #60  
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Originally Posted by batysa
The full route from Seal Beach, to the Dam ?
Ive ridden the Entire route (Dam to the Beach) a thousand times without Issue. The section of bike path North of the Dam has a lot of homeless junkies, they look dangerous but they have never been problamatic.
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Old 02-20-20, 10:31 AM
  #61  
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I have started to notice over the past 2 months an increase in homeless tents going up on the opposite side of the SGRT in the El Dorado Park area. I've seen the police rousting them several times but they always return. There are more and more of them that are making homes under the Wardlow and Spring street bridges.
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Old 02-20-20, 10:37 AM
  #62  
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I just avoid the SGRT south of Dunlop Crossing. It is rather ugly until you get to the Coyote confluence with the San Gabriel River. North of Pico Golf Course seems more interesting to me and is a nice freeway to Azusa Canyon. I use to ride a large loop using the SART-SGRT MUPS but have not done so in several months.
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Old 03-06-20, 07:31 AM
  #63  
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Yesterday 3/5/2020, Cal Trans was at the 605 South to 405 North transition ramp and removing the homeless and their junk. That area has a lot of tree and bush coverage so it's kind of hard to tell how many, if any, homeless are living there. Well, there were quite a lot. They were moving out gas BBQs and all sorts of stuff. Cal Trans comes in about once or twice a year and kicks them all out. All the fences in that area have been compromised among other things.
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Old 03-13-20, 11:18 PM
  #64  
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Originally Posted by hsuehhwa
I used to ride it all the time during daytime. I felt safe. Be careful on the tunnel underneath Whittier Blvd. There's just enough space for two slow riders to cross.
I nearly wiped out in one of those tunnels my first time riding it. Be very careful.
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Old 03-18-20, 09:39 PM
  #65  
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I rode the SGRT from Bellflower down to Seal Beach last weekend with my daughter. Was great, and we didn't have any problems. Trail was fine, a few rough spots but nothing bad. There were some homeless tents here and there but were not causing problem.
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Old 04-16-20, 11:22 AM
  #66  
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The homeless encampment that was residing in the overgrowth where the 605 South to 405 North transitions have been kicked out and are now pitching their tents in the rest area that is located in that spot. I didn't have any problems, but it appears that maybe because of the Covid-19 issues they are not being dealt with. I saw 5 - 6 tents along with a lot of their "Stuff" i.e. bicycles, sparklett bottles, bbq's etc.
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Old 05-06-20, 07:52 AM
  #67  
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We jumped on the SGRT for the first time a few weeks ago, near the 210/605 heading south. I'm really looking forward the next ride, my wife, not so much. That day had several groups logging some very fast miles, they went by us at pretty fast clip. Not really unsafe or that close, just startled her a bit. Of course, I was looking at the bikes with envy.
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Old 05-06-20, 08:35 AM
  #68  
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The homeless encampments from the Steel Bridge south are starting to grow. I haven't run into any problems, but now that I'm riding that section 3 times a week I suddenly notice a new tent here and there. It seems that a lot of the growth is happening on the non-bike path side (west) of the ditch under the bridges. Like I said, no problems so far and they all seem to be inside their tents. I'm not seeing a lot of activity. But it is definitely growing.
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Old 05-06-20, 03:09 PM
  #69  
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There was a bum passed out in his tent, on the bike path under the 60 freeway last weekend.. Higher than normal traffic between the golf course and Santa Fe Dam. Probably because the park is closed. The path is barricaded and chained at Santa Fe dam, but I did see one or two bikes and walkers on top of the dam.
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Old 05-06-20, 03:20 PM
  #70  
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Encanto Park and the bridge were still open last week. I imagine you can still access Santa Fe Dam from the north side or via City of Hope spur. The locked gate is a diversion but there are workarounds.
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Old 05-06-20, 03:26 PM
  #71  
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Yeah, but it's a pain if you are using the trail for access to 39 from out in the flats. It's also a pain that all the park restrooms are closed. Complicates long route selections.
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Old 05-28-20, 10:18 AM
  #72  
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Originally Posted by TakingMyTime
The homeless encampments from the Steel Bridge south are starting to grow. I haven't run into any problems, but now that I'm riding that section 3 times a week I suddenly notice a new tent here and there. It seems that a lot of the growth is happening on the non-bike path side (west) of the ditch under the bridges. Like I said, no problems so far and they all seem to be inside their tents. I'm not seeing a lot of activity. But it is definitely growing.
I hadn't been on this section for over a week. it appears that encampment is gone. There were a couple of trash cans and I had seen the county workiers roaming around in that area like they were going to do something about the encampment. I guess they did.
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Old 05-28-20, 01:19 PM
  #73  
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Originally Posted by TakingMyTime
I hadn't been on this section for over a week. it appears that encampment is gone. There were a couple of trash cans and I had seen the county workiers roaming around in that area like they were going to do something about the encampment. I guess they did.
Rode down a couple of weeks ago on a Saturday from above Whittier Narrows. The bum count was way lower than normal, but there was one with his tent pitched under the 60, half way into the path. It started to get really crowded down around the parks. Turned around at the bridge because I didn't want to deal with the traffic jams between the bridge and the ocean.

Rode the section north of Santa Fe dam as part of a larger loop last weekend. The bum count is way, way down, probably since the gate at Lario Park has been closed and the SJWs haven't been feeding them for a few months, but there was a pop up set up and it looks like that has started again, so expect it to go back to as bad as it was soon.

The bike path was well populated both weekends, but the parks were about deserted. At least the restrooms are open again.
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Old 06-24-20, 07:18 AM
  #74  
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I'm curious what it looks like from about the 5 fwy north to the Santa Fe Dam? I'd be leaving around the El Dorado Park area and I'm familiar with the the path up to about the 5 fwy. After that, I haven't been that far north in a long, long time. I'd be doing it alone. I'd like to make a run up to the Dam but I'd also like to feel relatively safe. Has anyone been on that stretch lately?
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Old 06-24-20, 08:16 AM
  #75  
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Just be careful and announce yourself going thru the Whittier Blvd tunnel and watch for glass on the San Gabriel Pkwy loop around. I frequently ride from Beverly Blvd north to above the Santa Fe Dam area to link with Hwy 39. I have not had any issues other than the usual zombie walkers.

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