Commuters boarding the 234 LA Metro bus along Sepulveda Boulevard between Sherman Oaks and Van Nuys will now reach their destinations a bit more swiftly. That’s the goal of the new bus-only priority lanes recently added along a 5.6 mile stretch of Sepulveda, said city officials.
Area residents and members of local neighborhood councils and advocacy groups joined elected officials and representatives of LA Metro and the LA Department of Transportation (LADOT) near Sepulveda and Hatteras Street on March 26 to celebrate the launch of the priority lanes. The bus-only segment – in the rightmost traffic lanes along Sepulveda – runs between Ventura Boulevard and Rayen Street, and is expected to move at least 50,000 bus riders per week.
Stephanie Wiggins, CEO of LA Metro, said the addition of the priority lanes will improve bus speeds by 15%, and help increase service reliability and reduce traffic congestion.
“This line serves kids that play at the local Rec Center … and teens catching a movie at the Sherman Oaks Galleria, as well as parents and seniors who work or receive medical care at the Valley Presbyterian Hospital,” said Wiggins. “We play a small yet important role in each of those riders’ days, and we want to make sure their experience aboard Metro is a positive one.”
Lindsey P. Horvath, board chair of the LA County Board of Supervisors, said the bus-only lanes do more than simply help curb commute times.
“The 9,000 daily riders who use line 234 are going to be able to get to work a little bit faster, drop off or pick up their children from school a little bit faster … and spend more time with family and friends,” said Horvath. “This is about enhancing the quality of life for thousands of families.”
With the addition of the latest priority lanes, there are now over 51 miles of bus-only lanes in LA County, with 34 more miles currently under construction, including on Roscoe Boulevard in the San Fernando Valley.
Wiggins said they are on track to reach their goal of completing 100 miles across LA before 2028. She attributed the success of the project in part to the support and input of community members.
“These types of improvements are quick [and] cost effective … but this type of transformation happens because we collaborate [with] our neighborhood councils, with our advocacy groups,” explained Wiggins. “To really advance equity, to advance mobility and to address our aggressive greenhouse gas emission goals, we’ve got to do this together.”
LA City Councilmember Imelda Padilla commended LA Metro for incorporating community engagement events with area residents into their planning, to get their feedback and “start talking about what the future of transportation was going to look like in this area.”
“That’s exactly why today, we’re now being able to see different improvements that for many years this side of town [the San Fernando Valley] never dreamed of being able to speak about,” said Padilla. “These priority bus lanes will [help] valley Metro riders connect to the rest of Los Angeles.”
Horvath said implementing priority lanes for buses is a necessary step in the right direction. In fact, Metro bus service along the Sepulveda corridor is nearly at pre-pandemic levels. Overall, of the 24 million total LA Metro boardings each month, nearly 80% of them are on buses, she said.
“We have to make sure that we always focus on the ridership experience [for all commuters], not only on our rail system,” said Horvath.
Padilla said she hopes more individuals of all ages, backgrounds and financial means will challenge themselves to get out of their cars more often and opt for public transit to go to work, visit family or “see a new part of Los Angeles to help traffic congestion and reduce emissions.”
“Let’s work together for a transit-forward future for the Valley and our entire region,” she said.
From this article: “…..the addition of the priority lanes will improve bus speeds by 15%…”. This improvement is ridiculously small compared to the congestion it will cause and the SLOWING of regular traffic. The slowing is because of the LOSS OF THE TRAFFIC LANE that the buses will be taking over.