Meeting_Body
PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING COMMITTEE
FEBRUARY 17, 2016
Subject/Action
SUBJECT: VERMONT AND NORTH HOLLYWOOD TO PASADENA BUS RAPID TRANSIT
CORRIDORS (OPERATION SHOVEL READY)
ACTION: RECEIVE AND FILE
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
RECEIVE AND FILE update on the status of the advanced Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) technical studies for the Vermont and North Hollywood to Pasadena corridors in response to the July 24, 2014 and October 23, 2014 Board directives.
Issue
ISSUE
At the July 24, 2014 meeting, the Board approved a motion (Attachment A) directing staff to begin advanced technical work on the Vermont and North Hollywood to Pasadena corridors as a result of recommendations from the Los Angeles County BRT and Street Design Improvement Study. This was further supported through a subsequent motion approved by the Board at the October 23, 2014 meeting (Attachment B). This report updates the Board on the advanced technical work for the two corridors and the outreach efforts conducted to date.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
Background
In December 2013, staff completed the Los Angeles County BRT and Street Design Improvement Study. Staff presented the study findings to the February 2014 Planning and Programming Committee, which identified nine potential BRT candidate corridors.
Vermont
Since the last quarterly update in November 2015, the project team has made significant progress. The project team completed an inventory of corridor characteristics, including traffic and parking conditions, physical constraints and street geometrics. This evaluation will help identify opportunities to implement dedicated running ways, either curbside or median running BRT, as well as all-day or peak-only dedicated bus lanes. The project team also examined the corridor’s demographics, including its population and employment densities and transit markets. The results from this analysis were shared with TAC members in November 2015. Based on this analysis, the consultant is developing some preliminary concepts.
North Hollywood to Pasadena
In November 2015, the results from the data collected on the physical corridor characteristics were presented to the TAC members. The results of this analysis will enable the exploration of potential BRT concepts/alignments that will include both arterial and/or freeway running alternatives. The project team has conducted an initial model run to establish baseline benchmarks. Any potential BRT alternative will be compared against these benchmarks for ridership potential and how well each serves major activity centers, and population and employment densities along the corridor.
Outreach Efforts
In December 2015, staff initiated stakeholder outreach efforts through an elected officials and Board staff briefing. Stakeholder roundtables were held in each corridor in January 2016. Invitees included businesses, religious institutions, schools, hospitals, community/neighborhood groups, major cultural centers, neighborhood councils, and Chambers of Commerce. The purpose of these briefings was to provide a general overview of the study, solicit feedback that might help inform alternatives development and discuss next steps. Outreach will be on-going throughout both studies.
Next_Steps
NEXT STEPS
Staff will continue advancing work on the technical studies for both the Vermont and North Hollywood to Pasadena corridor studies. Further analysis of the corridor data, BRT refinements, and stakeholder outreach will be accomplished in the next quarterly Board update.
Attachments
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - July 24, 2014 Board Motion
Attachment B - October 23, 2014 Board Motion
Prepared_by
Prepared by: Michael Richmai, Transportation Planning Manager, (213) 922-2558
Martha Butler, Director, (213) 922-7651
Eugene Kim, Deputy Executive Officer, (213) 922-3080
Reviewed_By
Reviewed by: Calvin E. Hollis, Interim Chief Planning Officer, (213) 922-7319
