BRT

In suburban Maryland, the debate about transit has often been cast as a decision between a light rail "purple line" and bus rapid transit. Democrat Martin O’Malley and local environmentalists lobbied for light rail while Republican Bob Ehrlich’s push for bus rapid transit was largely seen as an effort to “obfuscate, alter, study and delay” the progress on light rail. So in the D.C. area, BRT is sometimes seen as the choice of people who don’t really want transit to succeed.

Late yesterday afternoon, the news broke that the federal dollars needed to construct the Wilshire Bus-Only Lanes project would not be put in danger if the one mile just west of Beverly Hills were excluded.

Sometimes I enjoy having dinner at the Wilshire/Western Denny's for the opportunity it affords to watch the amazing dynamic transit action occurring at that intersection. This includes frequent and very busy bus lines (local and Rapid) along both streets plus hoards of people entering and exiting the rail station. It reminds me how tremendously heavy transit use in the Wilshire corridor is. And partially explains why a Wilshire Bus Rapid Transit Project has been in gestation and has now reached the draft Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Assessment stage.

This week's Transportation Committee hearing doesn't have all of the agenda items that we hoped to see, but does have an interesting one concerning use of Measure R funds to widen a road in the San Fernando Valley.  Along with a report on the Wilshire Bus-Only program and one directing LADOT and City Planning to move on Bike Corrals, this item is a highlight on an unusually small committee agenda.

(editor's note:  A couple of weeks ago Joe Linton wrote an update on Los Angeles' support for the Wilshire Bus-Only Lane.  A City Watch Columnist, Harold Katz, responded with an article attacking the project.)

The city of Los Angeles' Wilshire Boulevard Bus-Only Lane project took another step forward at this morning's full city council hearing. The project would implement peak-hour bus-only lanes from Pico Union to Santa Monica. It's calculated to speed bus times by about 25%. More information at Metro's project website.

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Curitiba, Brazil first adopted its Master Plan in 1968. Since then, it has become a city well known for inventive urban planning and affordable (to the user and the city) public transportation.