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June 28, 2001 |
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MTA
Board Approves Wilshire Bus Rapid Transit,
IN
THIS REPORT: Wilshire BRT
Exposition LRT The
MTA Board of Directors today adopted a bus rapid transit project and a
light rail transit project outlined in a draft environmental report
released earlier this year as the combined locally preferred transit
alternative for L.A.'s Mid-City and Westside, two areas of the city that
are expected to experience substantial growth in population over the next
two decades. The
Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) designation is the federal
government's term for the transit improvement(s) preferred over other
potential alternatives and is required before federal funding can be made
available for construction. The
Board adopted Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) as the alternative for the Wilshire
Boulevard Corridor and Light Rail Transit (LRT) as the alternative for the
Exposition Corridor. Wilshire
Boulevard Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)
The
Wilshire Boulevard BRT will run 13.2 miles along Wilshire Boulevard from
the Metro Red Line Wilshire/Western Station to downtown Santa Monica and
would be implemented per a phased implementation plan with the following
provisions: Peak
hour service would operate in dedicated transit lanes in the initial
phase, following the successful demonstration of service in mixed-flow
traffic and concurrence of the affected city and county jurisdictions. The
MTA would implement 24-hour dedicated transit lanes at a future date only
with the approval of the affected cities and coordination with
communities. BRT
buses would build on the success of the Metro Rapid Bus Program whose
distinctive red and white buses have been operating on the Wilshire/Whittier
and Ventura Boulevard corridors since June 2000. The
initial phase of the Wilshire Boulevard BRT would cost $212 million. Construction is expected to begin in 2003, with operation in
2005. The
initial phase would include the use of higher capacity buses with multiple
doors (replacement of the current 40-foot Metro Rapid buses with 45-foot
or 60-foot buses), enhanced Metro Rapid bus stations, enhanced signal
priority, off-vehicle fare vending, peak lane demonstration and testing,
curb lane reconstruction for either mixed flow or peak period operation (+/-
3 miles from Wilshire/Western to Wilshire/San Vicente), a downtown Los
Angeles Metro Rapid bus division, and a peak period curb lane (subject to
approval by each city/jurisdiction). The
ultimate Wilshire BRT alternative calls for the reconstruction of
median-adjacent or 24-hour lanes if approved by each city/jurisdiction,
and the possible introduction of double-articulated buses approximately 75
feet in length. Metro
Rapid has cut the travel time of commuters by as much as 25 percent and
increased bus ridership by 32.6 percent on the Wilshire/Whittier corridor
and by 26.4 percent on the Ventura Boulevard corridor in just seven months
of service. An
average trip on local bus service operating on Wilshire Boulevard takes up
to 70 minutes. The operation
of BRT buses in dedicated lanes would result in even greater time savings. Average travel time on the Wilshire BRT over the same
distance would be 46 minutes. Today's
MTA Board action regarding the Wilshire BRT project included one amendment
to the staff proposal. The
Board directed that additional sites be considered for a new downtown bus
maintenance and storage facility. Exposition
Light Rail Transit (LRT)
The
9.1-mile Exposition Light Rail Transit (LRT) project would operate on the
MTA-owned Exposition right-of-way from downtown Los Angeles to
Venice/Robertson in Culver City and include 10 stations.
The estimated cost of the project is $309 million. Unless new
funding is found, construction of the Exposition LRT is slated to begin in
2008, with operation in 2014. The
line would start at the 7th St./Metro Center/Julian Dixon Metro
Blue Line station at 7th/Flower in downtown Los Angeles and
proceed south along the existing Metro Blue Line tracks to Washington
Boulevard. At Washington
Boulevard the line would branch off, proceeding south on Hill Street to
join the Exposition right-of-way near USC/Exposition Park. The
line then would proceed west on the Exposition right-of-way to its
terminus at Venice/Washington from which feeder bus service would operate
in mixed traffic west of the station.
The
MTA Board adopted the Exposition Light Rail Transit project subject to the
following conditions: A
minimum operable segment would be identified from downtown Los Angeles to
Exposition Park with priority given to implementing this first segment. The
Exposition project will not take the place of the Wilshire, Eastside or
San Fernando Valley transit corridor projects as a funding priority. The
Exposition project will be separated from Wilshire Boulevard BRT as a
stand-alone project for purposes of final environmental clearance. The
need for supplemental mitigation, including a possible tunnel segment at
USC/Exposition Park, will be assessed following an expanded community
outreach program and considered for inclusion in the preliminary
engineering/final environmental impact statement/report at the time the
Board approves the preliminary engineering contract. In
addition to the conditions listed above, today's MTA Board action
included three amendments to the staff proposal regarding the Exposition
corridor. The first amendment calls on MTA to "establish the vision
and intent to construct light rail to Santa Monica and actively work to
accelerate the flow of federal, state and local funds to complete this
project as soon as possible without compromising other funding sources for
MTA adopted projects." The
MTA Board also directed that further study be conducted to evaluate grade
separation along the Exposition line and that MTA move forward with a
planned bikeway at the earliest possible date. The
Exposition right-of-way was purchased by the MTA in 1990 and currently is
not in use. As a result, the
LRT alternative would not displace any traffic lanes.
No
bus line operates continuous service parallel to the Exposition
right-of-way, however, Santa Monica Big Blue Bus Line #10 currently takes
between 60 and 75 minutes to complete the trip from downtown Santa Monica
to downtown Los Angeles via the Santa Monica Freeway. The
estimated run time for the Exposition light rail option from downtown Los
Angeles to Venice/Robertson is 28 minutes.
Frequent, connecting bus service would be provided on Venice
Boulevard and other streets to connect to other Westside destinations. A
short tunnel segment is being considered for the Exposition LRT options on
the eastern part of the alignment near USC/Exposition Park from Figueroa
Street to Vermont Avenue. The
net additional cost for this 0.6-mile subway is estimated to be $120
million. The
Westside of Los Angeles has the highest population and employment density
in the Southern California region, as well as the highest proportion of
transit ridership, features which make the area ideal for fixed guideway
transit solutions. The
area has a current population of 1.5 million persons and that figure is
expected to grow by 300,000 over the next 20 years.
The number of jobs is projected to increase by over 200,000. In
addition, no significant expansion of existing freeway and street networks
is planned to accommodate this growth.
As a result, improvements in public transit represent the best
means to meet future growth demands. In
January 1998, the MTA suspended work on the Metro Red Line subway
extension to the Mid-City area due to funding shortfalls.
The federal government had committed to fund $245 million, or
approximately 50 percent, of the cost of the project. Adoption
of an above ground transit project could utilize these suspended subway
monies. In addition, the
Governor's Transportation Initiative has committed $258 million in state
funds for the Mid-City/Westside Transit Corridor. Today's
MTA Board action follows the April 2001 release of the Draft Environmental
Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (Draft EIS/EIR) for the
Mid-City/Westside Transit Corridor Studies, which were initiated to
examine potential alternatives to the subway extension and to preserve the
federal funding. An EIS/EIR
is required to obtain state and federal funding to design and construct a
project. MTA-094 |
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