Well, for many of us, it's part of the route down to the beach. I've ridden it literally hundreds of times in the last 18 months, and believe you need to put these incidents in perspective. No one has ever been doored, left-hooked, or been buzzed within inches by a car doing 60mph on that bike path, that's for sure.
In general, I prefer it to using Venice Blvd., Jefferson, or other routes west. FWIW, I see tons people using it, at all hours, including single women jogging, kids and families on bikes, lots of people of all stripes. I think the degree of risk is very, very small. Nothing is risk-free.