After years of controversy and delays, the wheels are back in motion for a dedicated bus rapid transit system between North Hollywood and Pasadena that would be the first-ever premium transit line linking the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys.
The concept — similar to the popular G Line (Orange Line) in the heart of the San Fernando Valley — will run buses on dedicated lanes and general purpose lanes, with 22 side-out, canopy-covered bus stations with electronic signs giving the time of the next bus arrival, all designed to make the BRT faster and more reliable than regular bus service.
“We think of it as a light-rail on rubber tires,” said Scott Hartwell, LA Metro countywide planner overseeing the project’s design and environmental studies. The line would go from the North Hollywood B/G Lines (Red/Orange) station to the Memorial Park A Line Station in Old Pasadena, then continue in general purpose lanes in Pasadena on Colorado Boulevard to Hill Street/Pasadena City College.
First proposed in 2017, the 19-mile project was stalled by the COVID pandemic in 2020 and 2021, financing shortages and by vocal opposition. Folks in Eagle Rock didn’t want general purpose lanes on Colorado Boulevard taken over by buses only, saying reducing traffic to one lane for vehicles would cause gridlock on the community’s main thoroughfare and hurt small businesses.
From Broadway to Eagle Rock Boulevard, Colorado Boulevard in Eagle Rock will have one eastbound and one westbound lane dedicated for the BRT, with two general purpose lanes each way for cars, plus a bike lane, said Patrick Chandler, LA Metro spokesman. But in the 1.5 miles east of there to the 134 Freeway entrance, the general purpose lanes on Colorado Boulevard will funnel down to one lane, with an east and a west BRT lane in the center of the street and a protected bikeway.
The route, between Pasadena, Eagle Rock, Glendale, Burbank and North Hollywood, would ride a small portion of the 134 Freeway,…
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