NIMBYism Strikes Buses in Culver City, San Pedro

Last year Culver CityBus briefly stopped running its buses onto the campus of West Los Angeles College as Culver City Vice Mayor Micheál O‘Leary noted at the August 2, 2010 City Council meeting "with the understanding that the College would be providing service from the street into the College. ... since the College failed to keep that commitment the City saw the need to resume the service again and to also resume discussions with the College regarding the issue." Ari Noonan in his recent article "Almost with a Smile, West Accepts Bus Sked Compromise. Residents Don’t" delves into the actions of former West L.A. College President Mark Rocha that resulted in the brief removal of service.

Noonan also provides context to the recent City Council action approving schedule modifications to the bus lines serving the campus. Residents of the Lakeside Villa condo complex next to the college have complained of what they claim is intolerable bus noise and have kept up this drumbeat of NIMBY whining until the college and Culver CityBus consulted and proposed to adjust the service. The condo residents are not satisfied, evidently having as their goal the elimination of service onto campus. Thankfully it appears the city and college are only willing to go so far to meet their complaints. In this case NIMBYism has had an impact but only to a certain degree.

Now in San Pedro there is a movement by the San Pedro Coastal Neighborhood Council to have Metro route 246 no longer operate along Paseo Del Mar, currently part of the turn-around loop at its southern end. NIMBY complaints by homeowners about buses with demands that service be re-routed--sound familiar? Agenda item #18 at March 21st meeting of the Council's Governing Board states "Motion objecting to current route of MTA Line 246 and proposing that MTA work with community to establish an alternative" The meeting is 6:30pm - 9pm at:

Cabrillo Marina Community Building
Cabrillo Plaza, Berth 28
2853 Via Carbillo Marina Way

Bus users from the area might want to attend and express opinions regarding the Council's stance. Hopefully as in Culver City a fair compromise can be found that isn't simply pandering to NIMBY demands.

My thanks to activists J.K. Drummond of San Pedro and Ken Ruben of Culver City for bringing the situations in their respective communities to my attention.