Aliso Creek Road Pilot Bikeway Project

The Aliso Creek Road Pilot Bikeway Project

In August 2024, the Public Works department installed a one-way Class IV Separated Bikeway in both the eastbound and westbound directions along Aliso Creek Road. Approximately 100 students bicycle to the local middle school, mostly using electric bicycles (e-bikes).  Most of these students continue to ride e-bikes to the nearby high school served by Aliso Creek Road. The Aliso Creek Road Pilot Bikeway Project demonstrated a separated bikeway to improve safety and accessibility to all bicyclists, enhance the local streetscape, gather community feedback, evaluate applicability elsewhere in the City, and increase public awareness of the citywide Active Transportation Plan (ATP). This project demonstrated a variety of separated bikeway options to enhance bicycle safety and increase public awareness. The pilot project showcased three different types of vertical elements, striped buffer zones, and green conflict zone paint to create a Class IV Separated Bikeway. The City of Laguna Niguel solicited community feedback through surveys to determine the type of bikeway to expand citywide.

The pilot project was installed just a few days leading up to the City's three-day community Sea Country Festival, allowing community members to walk, bicycle, or drive Aliso Creek Road between La Paz Road and Alicia Parkway and then provide feedback on the design and materials through a hard copy survey at the festival or online through the Laguna Niguel Active Transportation Plan website. Public Works Department staff also hosted a booth at the Sea Country Festival, highlighting the pilot bikeway and secured over 250 hard copy survey responses from the public. The feedback from the community was overwhelmingly positive, and even inspired the City of Aliso Viejo to evaluate installing similar bikeways in their city. 

In December 2024, the American Public Works Association of Southern California awarded the City of Laguna Niguel Public Works department a B.E.S.T. Award for Project of the Year in the category of Traffic, Mobility & Beautification for the Aliso Creek Road Pilot Bikeway Project. 

The City of Laguna Niguel is committed to fostering a vibrant walking and bicycle culture through improved safety and enhanced active transportation infrastructure. The ATP supports efforts to create safer and more equitable streets that reduce bicyclist and pedestrian injuries and fatalities while increasing mobility for all ages and abilities. This innovative community engagement strategy to demonstrate the separated bikeway without relying on photographs or renderings helps build momentum for the ATP recommendations and gather support within the community to understand how the bicycle network can evolve and provide more support for ever-increasing bicycle usage.