WEST HOLLYWOOD—West Hollywood is spreading the word about Metro’s planned installation of new bus priority lanes along N. La Brea Avenue in the region and Los Angeles. The La Brea Avenue Bus Priority Lanes Project will add bus priority lanes in both directions along N. La Brea Avenue from Sunset Boulevard at the north to Coliseum Street at the south to improve transit travel times during weekday peak hours.
According to a press release from the city of West Hollywood, the first phase of the project will be installed between Sunset Boulevard and Olympic Boulevard; an extension south to Coliseum Street is anticipated in the future. Though most of the project is in Los Angeles, the first phase includes three blocks of N. La Brea Avenue in West Hollywood from Romaine Street to Fountain Avenue.
Construction is expected to start on Wednesday, July 5 and will occur on weekdays (Monday through Friday) between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Construction activities are anticipated to last between four and six weeks. Metro’s contractor will remove existing roadway striping, restripe curbside lanes, replace existing signs with new bus lane signs, and install pavement markings for new bus priority lanes.
After work commences, temporary lane closures will occur on N. La Brea Avenue, between Sunset Boulevard and S. Orange Drive (south of Olympic Boulevard), as necessary. Parking will be temporarily prohibited during work hours on only one side of the N. La Brea Avenue at a time for construction activity. Temporary signage will offer detour information for pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists.
West Hollywood is coordinating with Metro on the implementation of shared bus/bike lanes that were recommended for this segment of N. La Brea Avenue as part of the City’s Pedestrian and Bicycle Mobility Plan. Within the first phase of the project, including all portions within West Hollywood, new bus lanes will operate on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and again from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., replacing the additional general-purpose travel lane that currently becomes available in each direction during peak hours when curbside parking is prohibited.
The goal of the project is to improve speed and reliability for existing transit service on N. La Brea Avenue including Metro’s Line 212 bus service and West Hollywood’s Cityline Commuter service, which provides free rush-hour and Saturday evening service to and from Hollywood & Highland and the Metro B line. Once installed, drivers will be prohibited from driving in the new bus priority lanes during weekday peak hours except when making right-hand turns. The lanes will be enforced by West Hollywood’s Parking Enforcement staff, just as existing peak hour no-parking restrictions are today.
Seventy-five percent of bus riders on this corridor do not own cars and use the bus system at least five times per week. Additionally, all routes under consideration for Metro’s future Northern Extension of the Crenshaw/LAX light rail line also include a stop at Santa Monica Boulevard and N. La Brea Avenue, so bus lanes may also one day extend the reach of future rail service.
For more details about the La Brea Avenue Bus Priority Lanes Project visit Metro’s project website at www.metro.net/labrea or review the Metro project fact sheet.
By Donald
