Public Outcry Greets Plan to Connect L.A. to Pasadena via Bus Rapid Transit

Steve Scauzillo reports on the recent controversy over a proposed bus rapid transit route that would connect the neighborhood of North Hollywood, in Los Angeles, to Pasadena, located to the east.

The controversy was on full display at a recent hearing of the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council's Land Use Committee, when 100 residents and business owners from the neighborhood that lies about halfway along the route in Los Angeles showed up to voice concerns about the project.

"Members of a two-week-old group, with a website www.eaglerock411.com, were very concerned about the possibility that the rapid transit busway would use up the grassy median along a 2.3-mile stretch of Colorado Boulevard in Eagle Rock. They are also opposed to turning general traffic lanes in both directions into dedicated bus lanes and removing parking on both sides of the boulevard," reports Scauzillo.

The controversy has erupted since the Board of Directors at the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority decided recently not to run the route along the 134 Freeway, and instead chose a route along streets in Eagle Rock. "After holding several meetings in 2017 and 2018, Metro determined that community members in Eagle Rock, a neighborhood of Los Angeles just west of Pasadena, as well as Glendale and Burbank wanted a bus rapid transit line that would maximize street stops and stop at local shopping areas and workplaces," according to Scauzillo.

More details of the opposition's opinions on the proposal are included in the article.