Another Proposed Bus Rapid Transit Route Provokes Controversy in Los Angeles

The Los Angeles County Transportation Authority (Metro) is considering a bus rapid transit lane to run through the San Fernando Valley, but the project has encountered public resistance before even beginning environmental review. A recently formed group called "Save the San Fernando Valley" complained that the public had not had ample time to understand and comment on the project.

The exact route of the bus lane from which the group is hoping to save The Valley has yet to be determined. Some argue the bus would be less disruptive if it ran on Roscoe Boulevard rather than Nordhoff Street. However, "Running the entire project along Roscoe, however, would mean bypassing California State University, Northridge. School officials have pushed hard for better transit options for students, and Metro staff estimates that ridership on the bus would be highest between the university and the forthcoming light rail line to the east,” Elijah Chiland reports for Curbed. Still, the group thinks the disruption to parking and traffic on Nordhoff makes the bus line an unworkable project.

Supporters of the project point out, “The bus line would provide key connections to a planned light rail line along Van Nuys Boulevard and the Orange Line, an existing rapid bus that travels in dedicated lanes to the south of the proposed North Valley route,” Chiland writes. Metro hopes the project will be complete in time for the Olympics.

Bus rapid transit proposals have had trouble with local neighborhood groups in Los Angeles in recent weeks. Another proposal for a route connecting The Valley to the nearby city of Pasadena also encountered strident local opposition earlier this month.