Monterey Park is Latest City to Approve Quick Build Bus Rapid Transit
Monterey Park’s city council voted unanimously (3-0) last night to approve its two quick build “jump start” segments of SGV Forward – the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments’ bus rapid transit project. Councilmembers Thomas Wong and Elizabeth Yang recused themselves from the vote, as they both live within 500 feet of the project area.
SGV Forward is a bus rapid transit (BRT) line that will allow residents of the south San Gabriel Valley to traverse the region primarily eastward and westward from Pomona to Monterey Park, with connections to the Metro A Line and E Line. It will feature dedicated bus lanes (for about half the length), limited stops (called stations), signal priority, and more frequent service.
The project is funded by Metro’s Measure M, in the amount of $635 million. These bus upgrades replace an abandoned plan to extend the E Line light rail along the 60 Freeway. The target year for BRT completion is 2035.
The jump start segments are vital corridors along the BRT route that have been identified as sites for quick build demonstrations in advance of the 2028 Olympics. The cities of El Monte, South El Monte, and Rosemead have all approved their segments within the last month or so.
When completed (and hopefully complimented by work on Valley Boulevard funded by Metro’s federal Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods grant), these jump starts will provide seven miles of continuous bus lanes from La Puente to East Los Angeles. Their use as bus/bike lanes (closed to cars) will be limited to peak hours, 7-9 a.m. and 4-7 p.m.
Monterey Park’s two jump start segments on Atlantic Boulevard and Garvey Avenue will be curb/side running and side running, respectively.
Though the council’s support for the project was palpable throughout the discussion, there were still concerns.
Mayor Henry Lo was apprehensive about when Metro will build a parking structure on Lincoln Avenue and Garvey (just off Garfield Avenue). This is part of the planned Monterey Park Multi-Modal Mobility Hub, which is set to use Metro funds from the abandoned 710 Freeway extension. Kimley Horn design consultant Maya Bouchet was skeptical that the parking structure would finish in tandem with the quick build bus lanes.
Councilmember Vinh Ngo was worried about the cost to the city of adding BRT signal priority to the town’s traffic lights. Bouchet deferred that this was an issue to take up with Metro.
Ngo also repeatedly raised the idea that the peak hour operation of bus lanes could perhaps be limited to one way: westward in the morning, and eastward in the evening.
This would effectively leave an extra lane open to vehicles going against traffic, and defeat the purpose of BRT for those who rely on transit going in those directions at those times. This also would not work in a patchwork approach with neighboring cities.
Streetsblog’s San Gabriel Valley coverage is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the A Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. “Foothill Transit. Going Good Places.”Sign-up for our SGV Connect Newsletter, coming to your inbox on Fridays!
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