Advocates Urging Support for a Better Bus Rapid Transit for Eagle Rock at Hearing this Thursday

Eagle Rock livability advocates' Beautiful Boulevard proposal has been getting some traction at Metro... but not quite enough. Metro is nearing completion of public input on project environmental studies with one remaining community meeting this Thursday. Meeting details at the bottom this post.

The Beautiful Boulevard proposal applies to a central stretch in Metro’s ~18-mile-long North Hollywood to Pasadena Bus Rapid Transit project, which will span four cities: Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, and Los Angeles.

Though the Los Angeles City neighborhood of Eagle Rock, Metro had proposed flawed one-size-fits-all alternatives that pitted walkability and bikeways against transit. Beautiful Boulevard breaks Eagle Rock into three different zones with site-specific treatments in each, and emphasizes walking connections in the area's commercial downtown core. The proposal called for:

• center-running BRT
• retaining existing medians and on-street parking
• upgrading bike lanes and sidewalks
• adding landscaping and ADA upgrades

After L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis came out in support of Beautiful Boulevard, Metro added a new "Refined F1 option" to the alternatives the agency is evaluating. Metro's refined option (shown in this Metro presentation) adopts some of the basic lane configuration aspects of part of Beautiful Boulevard, but misses most of the proposal's features that would truly create effective rapid transit in a walkable and bikeable setting.

Proponents, calling themselves the Beautiful Boulevard Coalition, have developed talking points that note core features that Metro has, so far, chosen to omit:

• Metro’s plan excludes expanded sidewalks, sidewalk-level protected bike lanes, increased sidewalk trees.
• The Downtown Eagle Rock BRT station is poorly located in an area between gas stations instead of in the walkable commercial center at Caspar Ave.
• Metro is not providing access for Eagle Rock small businesses to Metro’s Business Interruption Fund even though project implementation may significantly impact vulnerable small businesses.
• Metro is not committing to incorporate central boarding platforms and using BRT-style buses that board from both sides. Metro has an option that uses right-side boarding buses that result in long separations between eastbound & westbound stations

The coalition is urging Metro to adopt the Beautiful Boulevard proposal in full, including expanded sidewalks, sidewalk-level bikeways, native landscaping, left-side boarding buses, traffic calming, and support for local businesses. These are the sorts of features that needed to make getting to transit stations safe, easy, and convenient.

The public will have a chance to weigh in this week, at a NoHo-Pasadena Transit Corridor hearing hosted by Metro this Thursday 4/1 from 5-7 p.m. Access via Zoom Link or phone (877) 853-5247 using access code: 829 2509 7331

For more information, see Beautiful Boulevard Coalition talking points and yesterday's coverage at Urbanize.