Who decided to put a concrete curb along Culver Drive and Orchard Hills Drive? The City Council never took up that project by itself. The protected bike lane came in as part of a repaving job the street was already due for. That one fact explains much of what has happened since spring, including the friction after installation and the town halls that came after the work started.
It also matters for the next street. The city plans to keep adding this type of lane each time a street comes up for rehabilitation. People who want a say in where the next one goes will need to know how this one happened.
The Lane Came With the Repaving
Irvine's Sustainable Mobility Plan, dated January 2024, listed "Culver Drive-Orchard Hills Drive north of Portola Parkway" among its shorter-term projects. It also listed Culver Drive from Irvine Center Drive to Portola Parkway as an immediate improvement opportunity. The plan calls this kind of lane Class IV. These lanes are separated from traffic by a physical barrier plus a painted buffer. Flexible posts or a raised level are among the barrier options it lists.
The money came from somewhere else. In June 2024, the City Council gave Excel Paving Company a $27,438,130 contract covering street rehabilitation and slurry seal citywide, as needed. The staff report says the contract can pay for both pavement work and bikeway separators. That figure covers street work across the whole city. The award itself does not separate out an Orchard Hills amount.
The Northwood Howler, Northwood High School's student newspaper, explained how the pieces came together. The corridor was already scheduled for near-term pavement work, so the city's Capital Improvement Program added the protected lanes to that project. The funding was part of the annual street rehabilitation budget, and the City Council never discussed this specific project. The same story reported that the Orange County Fire Authority approved the design for emergency vehicle access. It also reported that the city was legally exempt from a traffic review because the project did not narrow any car lanes.
That sequence made Orchard Hills Drive Irvine's second Class IV bikeway. The first was built on Cadence in 2024.
Eight Months on One Mile of Road
The city's traffic advisories and monthly project reports, read in order, show how the work moved along.
- March 2026. A city traffic bulletin announced pavement rehabilitation on Culver Drive and Forge, plus a Class IV protected bike lane on Culver Drive and Orchard Hills Drive. Phase 1 covered grinding and repaving Culver and Forge on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., running through April.
- June 2026. A follow-up advisory added slurry seal on Orchard Hills Drive and Irvine Ranch Water District utility work, with construction continuing through August.
- July 2026. The city's monthly project update said a concrete curb divider would go in on both Culver Drive and Orchard Hills Drive.
- Summer 2026. The separated lanes opened. The Howler reported the opening on September 24.
- October 2026. The city's October capital project report said the contractor had kept painting striping and would finish the striping and bike lane markings the following month. It gave fall 2026 as the expected completion.
The schedule shifted along the way. The earliest phase was set to wrap up in April, the June notice said work would run through August, and the October report still listed the final markings as the remaining work. Repaving goes first and the separator follows, so the curb was in place well before the paint was finished. For neighbors, that meant several months of lane closures on weekdays between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m.
What the Curb Runs Past
The route is short, and it passes the places most of the village goes. The city's Orchard Hills Loop map describes it plainly. Culver Drive crosses Portola Parkway and becomes Orchard Hills Drive, and northbound riders pass Orchard Hills Shopping Center on their left. Farther up, the road passes the traffic light at Furrow. The next left, with no signal, is a dirt road to the Orchard Hills Loop staging area, about 0.8 mile past Portola.
The shopping center at 3801–3993 Portola Parkway has a new tenant this month. Club Studio opened at 3949 Portola Parkway in early November, the brand's second Irvine club. Club Studio's announcement lists three studios: CS4 strength training, a heated Sweat+ yoga room and reformer Pilates. It describes the location as serving Orchard Hills, Eastwood Village and Portola Springs, which together have more than 8,000 homes.
At the north end, the road reaches the ridge, but the trails beyond the turnoff can't be used whenever you like. Irvine Ranch Natural Landmarks describes Orchard Hills as a three-mile multi-use double loop around a working avocado orchard, with a 1.2-mile inner loop. Access is by guided programs only. The city's open space page says the same about Hicks Haul Road and the Portola Staging Area.
So the protected stretch links the village's shopping center to a trailhead that is open only for guided programs.
The Repaving Route Explains Each Objection
Each position on this lane connects to how the project was approved. The table sorts them.
| Party | Position | Where it was reported |
|---|---|---|
| Orchard Hills homeowners associations | Opposed; said the bikeways were approved without their input | The Northwood Howler, Sept. 24, 2026 |
| Some critics | Objected that no traffic or environmental impact study was done | The Northwood Howler |
| Orange County Fire Authority | Approved the design for emergency vehicle access | The Northwood Howler |
| Orange County Bicycle Coalition | Argued the design restricts cyclists' movement too much | The Northwood Howler |
| Remake Irvine Streets for Everyone | Supported it as a step toward more bike-friendly streets | The Northwood Howler |
| Students who ride it | Said the commute feels safer; some said car traffic seems slower | The Northwood Howler |
The homeowners associations' complaint about notice comes straight from the funding path. The money came from the annual street rehabilitation budget, so the City Council never discussed this project specifically. The missing traffic study comes from the design. Every car lane kept its existing width, which is why the city was exempt from a traffic review. The cycling advocates' objection is different. They take aim at the design itself, arguing the curb that protects riders also limits where they can get in and out of the lane.
Some opposition showed up as a petition. A July 14 Change.org petition asked the city to pause installing the concrete barriers. It argued that the barriers would cause congestion and that the green paint and concrete clash with the neighborhood's look. Those are the petition's claims. None of the city documents on the project report those effects.
Where the Next Decision Gets Made
Councilmember Melinda Liu, who represents northern Irvine, has said this rollout should change how future ones are handled. She told The Northwood Howler:
"I think when we decide to implement something like this, we do need to communicate that to local residents who will be impacted. That would be something that we should learn from this experience, and when we roll out other stretches of protective bike lanes elsewhere in the city, we should do town halls to talk to residents directly."
Liu held a town hall on August 12. Her events page lists a second one just for Orchard Hills on Wednesday, October 7. It covered how the project was being carried out and how it would affect the surrounding community. According to the Howler, she supports Class IV lanes in general but has said the city should focus them on more heavily used corridors.
The Howler also reported what the city plans next. Irvine intends to build Class IV lanes across the city over several years as part of its annual road rehabilitation. The city will track traffic and safety data on the Orchard Hills lane. It may add signs and markings, working with OCFA, the Irvine Police Department and Public Works & Sustainability.
That pattern points neighbors to a practical step. The best time to speak up about a protected lane is when a street shows up on the repaving schedule, since the bike lane can be added to that job. The city posts upcoming work on its Capital Improvement Projects Map and in its weekly roadway advisories. Questions about the Orchard Hills work go to [email protected] or the project hotline at 949-724-6676.
Changes like a new curb line, a new tenant at Orchard Hills Shopping Center and a repaved Culver Drive often come up when neighbors compare notes on their street. If you'd like a clear, numbers-first read on how this year's changes along Orchard Hills Drive fit into your own home's value, Jen Gong and her team are happy to walk through it with you, in English or Mandarin. Get Your Free Home Valuation.
