The news release is below. It’s about a 45- to 50-minute trip on the Rapid 761 between Pacoima and Sherman Oaks at present — this project aims to speed that up:
Metro, in cooperation with the city of Los Angeles, will hold three community workshops in late October to inform the public about the start of a study that will identify options for improving transit service along the Van Nuys Boulevard corridor in the San Fernando Valley.
The community meetings will provide the public with background information on the beginning of the Van Nuys Corridor Rapidway Study and allow public input on various ways to better connect the corridor to the regional transportation network.
The Van Nuys Rapidway study area extends from Ventura Boulevard north to the I-210 freeway. Initial alternatives under consideration as part of the beginning of the Alternative Analysis (AA) include Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), Light Rail Transit (LRT), Streetcar, a “No Build” alternative and a Transportation Systems Management (TSM) alternative aimed at better managing the flow of traffic along the corridor.
Measure R, the half-cent sales tax approved by the voters of LA County in 2008 earmarks $68.5 million for the East San Fernando Valley North-South Rapidways that includes the Van Nuys corridor. Three other corridors, Sepulveda, Lankershim/San Fernando and Reseda, are being studied through a separate environmental process.
The community workshop meetings will take place from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the following locations:
Monday, October 24, 2011 at Panorama High School, 8015 Van Nuys Blvd., Panorama.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011 at Pacoima Neighborhood City Hall, 13520 Van Nuys Blvd., Suite # 209, Pacoima.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011 at Van Nuys Civic Center, Marvin Braude Constituent Service Center, Room 1B, Van Nuys.
Categories: Measure R, Policy & Funding, Projects
This valley line and whatever is proposed for 405 line down to LAX need to be all one unified through route. Subway would be best for crowds (watching the 405 over Sepulveda pass is proof enough) and for the lack of ROW.
Minimum segment needs to be from the Orange Line to Expo. Major connections at Ventura Blvd, UCLA, Purple line and to the Expo line. Segment 2 then from Expo to LAX, 3rd segment from Orange, through Downtown Van Nuys, the Amtrak/Metrolink station and up to to Slymar, either the Metrolink station or an HSR station. Seems a no brainer, hope we don’t get stuck with a bus. Engineering may be an issue, but would take light rail as second choice.
Van Nuys is a “backbone” route of the San Fernando Valley and deserves nothing less than light rail in its own right-of-way.
@Tony, I forgot there was the LADOT Express lines going through there. The only reason why I don’t support the Van Nuys corridior is because I want the whole San Fernando Valley to split from L.A. Yes once it’s split then Metro will no longer need to operate for that area if SFV ever got split from L.A.
Plus I have a feeling the NIMBY politicans will not like the idea of building anything there.
If the MTA decides a subway is the best line for the Sepulveda pass, would the subway continue to the Van Nuys corridor or end somewhere near else near the 405/101 Ventura blvd area?
I would like to see this simple solution to mass transit implemented.
Run buses down the freeways. Very little expense. They would only stop at off/on ramps. Steps would have to be laid, for passengers to access the bus.
I understand SM BBB is considering running a Rapid/Express bus service from the Van Nuys Amtrak/Metrolink station om this corrider and then on the freeway though the pass to downtown Santa Monica once the HOV Lanes on the 405 are complete.
@betterfuture, there’s no need for a Metro Rapid 761 pilot express via I-405 because LADOT’s Commuter Express already provides such service via lines 573 to Westwood/Century City and 574 to El Segundo; with a dozen to half dozen round trips respectively; however, because it’s geared towards rush hours and still has to compete with automobiles, it’s not a viable alternative to majority of the commuters who are weighing their option between driving alone and taking a bus that’s not any faster or convenient to their working hours.
When the Red Line was extended to the SFV in 2000, it achieved daily ridership of over 100k, which means there is demand, not just for public transit, but rail that is a true alternative to driving. Of course, these upcoming meetings only cover the scope of Van Nuys Boulevard in the SFV, but it’s never too early to advocate for it to be tied to a potential rail tunnel to Westwood; therefore, we should start off by getting rail on Van Nuys Boulevard. Unless we are content with status quo or the compromises like the Orange Line busway, we should be progressive and let it be known that Van Nuys is all in for rail service. From Pacoima to Van Nuys, I can’t imagine any opposition based on the ridership demographics of Metro bus lines 233 & 761.
I completely agree that LRT is the best option because its the closest thing to rapid transit and depending on how its implemented (signal preemption, some below and/or above grade segments) it can be true rapid transit. It would also have much higher capacity than that of a BRT or streetcar. And it absolutely needs to be part of the the Sepulveda pass (I-405) line because it would allow for a slew of regional connection opportunities while minimizing transfers which will certainly help ridership. It would be a huge mistake for this line to end up like the orange line bus (which of course has its own problems and requires a transfer to the red line to get to the LA basin.) because that would result in further fragmenting something that could be one continuous line that seamlessly connects the valley and much of western LA county. It’s very important that Metro combines the Van Nuys corridor and Sepulveda pass corridor projects. Lets not mess this up.
This is the most important corridor for the future of the SFV if there is a direct connection to the 405 transit way as Tobias said. This is the missing link that the Valley needs desperately.
Light rail is obviously the way to go. This project should be built in tandem with the “405 Line” project. By the end of Measure R we could have a light-rail line that delivers people from the heart of the valley (Mid-Van Nuys) to UCLA and the Purple Line at Wilshire/Westwood. And afterwards there could be further extensions North and South. It’s a no-brainer.
If anything, just try to do a polit express service via the freeway for Line 761 corridior if the people want improvements…but however I like the fleet reduction plan so no changes should be made for line 761.
I don’t think a light-rail nor a Bus rapid transit nor a street car should be built because that’s not gonna improve anything on Line 761.