Metro North Hollywood-to-Pasadena Bus Rapid Transit Meetings Tonight and Saturday

4:40 PM PST on November 12, 2020

Metro’s rendering of how its NoHo-Pasadena BRT line could look at the North Hollywood Intersection of Vineland/Lankershim/Camarillo

Metro is currently receiving public input on its North Hollywood to Pasadena Bus Rapid Transit plans. The project's Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) is posted online. To submit comments on the project DEIR, email NoHoPasBRT[at]metro.net by December 10, 2020.

Metro is hosting virtual public hearing meetings tonight and this Saturday:

Thursday 11/12 from 6-8 p.m. - access on Zoom or by phone (877)853-5247, access code: 933 6273 7314#
Saturday 11/14 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. - access on Zoom or by phone (877)853-5247, access code: 932 5509 4044#

The ~18-mile long new BRT line would extend from the North Hollywood B/G Line (Red/Orange) to the L Line (Gold) in Old Town Pasadena. The project spans four cities: Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, and Los Angeles - specifically the L.A. City communities of Eagle Rock and North Hollywood.

Metro North Hollywood to Pasadena Bus Rapid Transit route alternatives. Image via Metro DEIR. — Metro North Hollywood to Pasadena Bus Rapid Transit route alternatives. Image via Metro DEIR

Metro's Measure M expenditure plan allocates $267 million for the project. Measure M specifies a groundbreaking date of 2022 and an opening date between 2022 and 2024. Metro delayed the project marginally after Eagle Rock nimbys launched a Trumpian misinformation campaign against it in 2019. Metro's current schedule anticipates its board approving a locally preferred alternative (LPA) by February 2021, and final EIR approval by June 2021.

In a November 4 San Fernando Valley Service Council presentation, Metro revealed some renderings for the project. After the above North Hollywood rendering was published at Urbanize, Twitter users critiqued the design, which does little to remedy the existing dangerously pedestrian-hostile intersection.

@metrolosangeles Can you imagine your small children crossing this street? @LADOTofficial how about your elderly parent? Your neighbor who uses a wheelchair?

I'll see ya'll at the first meeting about this on Thursdayhttps://t.co/RsBiV35QkI pic.twitter.com/AJSpZh4P32
— bussit baby (@bussit_bbLA) November 11, 2020

Holy shit. Anyone in LA know what the walk time is on this intersection? Its gotta be in years. https://t.co/iTth3xX4uL
— Darrell Owens (@IDoTheThinking) November 10, 2020

Further renderings depict alternatives through the cities of Burbank and Glendale.

The Eagle Rock portion of the project has received the ire of anti-BRT nimbys, who urged Metro to miss Eagle Rock by running the BRT on the 134 Freeway. Metro had dismissed this option due to low ridership projections and concerns over poor reliability due to freeway congestion.

Equitable Eagle Rock has been campaigning for BRT on Colorado Boulevard, serving the heart of Eagle Rock. The group is critical of the three sub-optimal designs that Metro has proposed for Eagle Rock. From Equitable Eagle Rock's alert:

Option F1- Proposes to keep bike lanes while adding bus lanes but eliminates parking, landscaped medians, and planned curb extensions
Option F2 (Currently Metro’s Preferred Option)- Proposes to eliminate existing buffered bike lanes and replace them with inefficient bus lanes that will be slowed down by drivers trying to park, and right-turning drivers, and put people on bikes in conflict with buses.
Option F3- Proposes to bypass Eagle Rock, run buses on the 134 Freeway in lanes that are prone to traffic delays, and force transit riders into the inhospitable environment of a freeway
Equitable Eagle Rock is urging Metro to consider the community as a whole, and our specific needs. Specifically, we request Metro bring forth an option which provides bus lanes on Colorado Boulevard while aligning with existing community plans and LA’s Mobility Plan 2035. Currently NONE of the plans achieve this.

Equitable Eagle Rock is urging folks to email in support of Metro developing a new option that includes bus-only lanes while maintaining existing bike lanes and curb extensions, which "contribute to a safer, more equitable and sustainable Colorado Blvd."

To learn more and comment on the project, tune in tonight or Saturday. Submit comments by December 10.