Van Nuys Corridor Map
Metro announced today that it has been selected to receive $2 million in Federal Transit Administration funding to begin two new transportation projects: an alternatives analysis for a premium transit service on Van Nuys Boulevard and work to improve the agency’s transit forecasting model. See the FTA’s announcement.
And here are the project descriptions.
This latest funding notice from the FTA injects new momentum into the agency’s Measure R program and is a win for the San Fernando Valley.
The Van Nuys Corridor is a main element in the East San Fernando Valley North-South Rapidways Project, which seeks to provide better transit service on key corridors in the Valley.
For the Van Nuys Corridor project, the goal is to greatly improve mobility on Van Nuys Boulevard for about 10 miles between Ventura and Foothill Boulevards. Anyone who has ridden a bus down Van Nuys Boulevard in this area knows this street is primed for some sort of premium service.
The Van Nuys corridor consistently ranks as one of the top ten busiest bus corridors in Los Angeles County. In the Valley it is the busiest corridor. Total weekday boardings on Metro buses serving this boulevard even beat the Metro Orange Line and Ventura Metro Rapid in terms of daily ridership. (Metro has approximately 27,000 weekday boardings for buses running on Van Nuys compared to the Orange Line’s 23,500 and Ventura Rapid’s 5,500 boardings).
So what are the possible transit alternatives the Alternatives Analysis will study? Besides the obligatory No-Build and Transportation Systems Management alternatives, Metro will be looking at the following options:
- Dedicated bus lanes
- Light rail
- Streetcars
Metro’s project planners say that any of the options short of doing nothing will impact parking along much of this portion of Van Nuys Boulevard. They also say that the study will have to evaluate ways in which the removal of parking to build the project can be mitigated, which could include — among others — off-site parking lots. The community input process should help vet these and other issues during the AA process.
The streetcar option is an intriguing prospect for Van Nuys Boulevard, creating a “Back to the Future” possibility. While not technically streetcars, the last Pacific Electric Red Car traveling on Van Nuys was taken out of service in 1952.
Metro has released its Request for Proposals to conduct the AA work and could be ready by early 2013 to recommend a project to the Metro Board of Directors.
The work to improve Metro’s transit forecasting model will help improve the way other Measure R projects like the Westside Subway Extension and Crenshaw-LAX projects model their own travel demand.
I think light rail would be better it would have been nice if the orange line was a light rail also.
The connection to the red line would not have been an issue if the orange line had not been screwed up in the first place to begin with by being built as a non-prioritized bus. But by NOT building this line as light rail, it would screw up a very important connection in the future, the sepulveda pass corridor, which certainly needs to be rail, I don’t there is much question about that, (ridership attraction, capacity, electric power, smoother ride, connection to other lines, the list goes on.) This line ought to be presumed to connect to the sepulveda pass line, not doing so would be a foolish missed opportunity. We need to start looking at these things as true transit infrastructure, not just band-aid solutions. Don’t play the expense card because its going to have to happen sometime anyway…
Can you explain to me why you can’t just get rid of a lane on our freeways and build heavy rail on top of it?
I mean you already have the existing infrastructure that can be used; the freeways themselves are already above and below grade. Think of freeway entries and exits as train stations.
You don’t have to deal with years and years of new studies wasting taxpayer money, only to find out that material prices increased so much after conducting those studies.
Great news, here is my plan: Currently there are some sort of plans for the Sepuvleda Pass/Sepulveda Bl. corridor, and the Lankershim Bl./San Fernando Rd. Corridor. Scrap the Sepulveda Bl. and Lankershim Bl./San Fernando Rd., (mostly because all they will be are rapid bus lines which there was a line 724 just 2 years ago, it fails and line has been cancelled, and there currently is a rapid line Via Sepulveda Bl that is usually at a low passenger ridership.)
Now the funds for those two projects can now be used for the Sepulveda Pass/Van Nuys Corridor.
First project: A Metro X line (the blue express metro bus)that Starts at Westwood (Veteran/Wilshire) to Sunset/405 fwy.)than express to Van Nuys/101 fwy. than ends at Orange Line Van Nuys Station.
Second Project: The Orange line/Red Line needs to have direct escalator/elevators to make the tranfer easy and quick (the crossing the street is sickening, unsafe, and time consuming).
Third project: Build a Light Rail from Van Nuys Orange Line Station ending at Sylmar Station. on Van Nuys Bl. Use the Center median and/or use one of each north/south lanes making Van Nuys Bl. have two auto lanes each direction (instead of the currant three) to Parthenia St., ( same as the comment by JDRCRASHER )than proceed on the center median (currantly its weeds/bushes) on Parthenia to Sepulveda Bl., than proceed on Sepulveda Bl also using it center median, to Rinali Street (at Holy Cross Medical), than proceed on Rinaldi street, cross the 5 fwy., and goto Brand Bl (also has a center median), to San Fernando Rd./Truman Street, and finally ends at Sylmar Station. After this is completed than eleminate lines 734/902 service, and reduce lines 233/761 but keep there routes the same (Pacoima/Westwood).
Final Project: Orange line extension to Burbank Airport, than to Burabank Station.
Metro needs to understand that the San Fernando Valley doesn’t need dedicated busways. It needs light rail. If they were to go with light rail on Van Nuys they would see how much the service is needed in the Valley. I like John Kasitz “Third project”. It makes sense and trust me people will ride the rail. Lets hope Metro sees this and moves forward to build the rail. I live in Sylmar, near the Metrolink station, and everytime I go to Downtown LA I have to take the 224 to get to the Red Line Station in North Hollywwod. Its just horrible. We need rail connecting the Northeast and East San Fernando Valley to the rest of Los Angeles and busses aren’t going to cut it.