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In the Wilshire BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) project, the LA County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) proposes eliminating two lanes of Wilshire Boulevard, one in each direction, between Centinela Avenue and Downtown LA to create bus-only lanes.

The lanes would not be implemented in Beverly Hills, and it is likely that they would be discontinued east of the 405 for several blocks to avoid interfering with traffic entering and exiting the 405.

LACMTA recently issued a Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR), and many homeowners groups, bus riders associations, and individuals across the City gave comments.
Everyone agrees that traffic is a major problem on the Westside. The question is whether the Wilshire BRT will help bus riders enough to justify the significant negative impact on vehicle traffic that will be caused by reducing the number of lanes of traffic on Wilshire.

Surprisingly, the DEIR does not estimate how much time will collectively be saved by bus riders, nor does it fully address the impact on people who drive through the area, many of whom can’t get to their destinations by bus.
Trial bus lane projects have previously been conducted on Wilshire west of the 405. Dedicated bus lanes were implemented during peak rush hour traffic only, with a morning westbound lane and an afternoon eastbound lane, instead of a current proposal for round-the-clock lanes in both directions.

LADOT reported in 2005 that trials “caused adverse impacts and significant delays to mixed traffic on Wilshire Boulevard as well as parallel streets like Sunset Boulevard,” and Councilman Rosendahl told the LA Times that implementing bus lanes “caused more gridlock than it has helped.”

The DEIR inexplicably does not address the traffic impact on streets north of Wilshire Blvd. from bus lanes, which makes it almost impossible for area residents and workers to evaluate whether this project is a good idea.
The DEIR studied streets from Wilshire Blvd south, and east of the 405, but not north of Wilshire.

Many intersections will be significantly impacted, and Bundy/Wilshire will experience additional delays of over 30 seconds beyond its current “F” level of service. Of course with this sort of delay traffic will divert to other neighborhood streets.

The Brentwood Community Council (BCC) and other homeowners groups have asked that the DEIR be redone to include information on the impact on traffic vs. the projected time savings so that residents and commuters can make informed decisions about whether or not to support the project.
They also noted that many items in the DEIR such as improving signal timing, adding left turn lanes, and paving sections of Wilshire that are potholed and broken can all be implemented without taking out lanes for buses.
Just because a project has the word “Bus” in it does not mean that it is a good project. The residents and workers in West Los Angeles deserve to know the impact that a significant project like the Wilshire BRT would have on the area west of the 405, and the LACMTA should be able to demonstrate that this project helps more people save time than it hurts.

Comments to date: 2. Page 1 of 1. Average Rating: Ellen Isaacs    Los Angeles 2:21pm on Tuesday, January 4th, 2011  Hi Lauren, and thank you for writing this article. Two things to think about: One, if I recall correctly, the earlier incarnation of the bus lane on Wilshire west of the 405 was one mile long - no wonder it made such a mess of traffic as people tried to get into and out of the bus lane during peak hours. A mostly continuous lane would seem to be a better solution. Two, putting a dedicated bus lane in during peak hours would benefit drivers in two ways. It keeps buses out of the rest of the lanes of commuter and resident traffic, and when peak hours are over, the improved condition of the newly paved curb lane will make travel much easier on cars that will use the curb lane. Just my opinion... Sunyoung Yang    Los Angeles 4:30pm on Friday, October 1st, 2010  Lauren, you raise a couple of points that could be clarified. The current proposal is to implement peak hour lanes not 24 hour lanes although one day I'd hope that if successful the city would move to make it a round the clock lane. Most of the intersection reviewed under the DEIR had mitigable traffic impact and it was a hand few that couldn't be mitigated. In regards to the northside of Wilshire not being evaluated I'm not sure what the methodology was to exclude that portion so could be a valid concern. I think the BCC has more to lose if nothing moves forward. Traffic will only continue to increase on Wilshire with business as usual--letting cars be priority--the city can't expand the lanes on Wilshire Blvd. to accomodate the growing car use/population or add a double decker lane to the 405--imagine the pollution to the Westside residents living there. The funding for signal priority, street repaving, left turn lanes actually cannot be done by the city without implementing bus lanes because that's the condition that the Federal government gave money for this whole project. The city would lose the funding to do all that without the bus lane. I think perhaps a more productive conversation for BCC is to propose to MTA about creating more access to bus service in the Westside, whether that's clean fuel neighborhood shuttle buses that picks up folks who need to drive to get to their destination. Your concern around many residents who can't get to their destination by bus--I assume because there's no service, could really benefit from creation of more flexible Westside community bus service/more commuter shuttle to work areas that Westside residents need access to in conjunction with the Wilshire bus lane. Your Name: Your Location: Vote: Choose 1 - Dreadful 2 - Poor 3 - Fair 4 - Good 5 - Excellent Your Comment: Security check *