Update on new Bus Priority Lanes planned for Florence Avenue in South L.A.

The Metro Board of Directors and the L.A. City Council in July 2019 authorized the Bus Speed Engineering Working Group, a collaborative effort between Metro and LADOT to speed up transit service as part of Metro’s NextGen Bus Plan. As part of the working group’s recommendations, bus priority lanes along Florence Av are planned from the Florence A Line (Blue) Station to West Boulevard, near the K Line Fairview Heights Station, to improve the speed, frequency and reliability of our Line 111 buses along the corridor.

During the outreach process for the Florence Av Bus Priority Lanes Project, questions and concerns were received regarding the proposed one-hour No Parking extension during the morning and evening peak hours for the portion of the bus lanes within the city of Los Angeles from West Blvd. to Central Avenue. After weighing the benefits and tradeoffs, it was determined that the project would not pursue this extension. As a result, the bus priority lanes will operate from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. in the mornings and from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the late afternoon and early evening.

The current weekday No Parking restrictions for the unincorporated L.A. County portion of the project — from Central to the Florence A (Blue) Line Station — will be updated to the same hours in order to be consistent and keep buses reliable.

Concerns were also raised regarding the pavement conditions on Florence, particularly the western portion of the corridor. Although Metro has no jurisdiction over city streets, staff collaborated with our partners at Council District 8, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) and the Bureau of Street Services (StreetsLA) to bring these community concerns to their attention so they could be addressed.

StreetsLA is now anticipated to begin resurfacing work along key segments of the western portion of Florence this week (Feb. 27). Information on the specific details of that work and who to contact with any questions can be found here.

Metro staff will begin to finalize the project design and work toward opening the new lanes this coming Fall. An updated project description and other information can be found on the project website at metro.net/Florence.

7 replies

  1. Slauson rail line big missed opportunity as a east/west route situated between E and C lines with at least 5/6 north/south bus/rail connections. What A WASTE. If it wasn’t going to be a rail line to LAX, then it should have been a local rail line. ESPECIALLY, since was a Metro owned taxpayer paid right of way.
    I hope the do not repeat the mistake between Redondo and Torrance – they better use the ROW, not a elevated street route..
    Personally, I would have started it for now in South Gate, run along Slauson to Inglewood, then LAX and turn it either south to Redondo/Torrance. I would have had the C line after turning north to LAX continue up Crenshaw to Expo and someday, Wilshire and then Hollywood. Creates an X at LAX station for multiple transfers in all directions.

  2. theres no denying that these quick and easy changes have been ignored for too long and should be prioritized more often by the city. I would prefer street parking be removed entirely in favor of bus and bike lanes, but south central needs so many improvements i cant be upset if theyre not all completed at once.

  3. Hey, you know what would be better than a bus only lane that’s on my good for Rush Hours for some sloppy local bus line down Florence Ave?

    A rail line running on an abandoned right of way on Slauson Ave that has connections to the Blue Line, Santa Ana Line, Silver Line, Furture Red Line Subway/BRT extension to Vermont, Crenshaw Line, LAX and the Green Line to Torrance and Santa Monica in the future.

    Sounds amazing right, especially considering how advocates always complain about how fares are too high for the “poor” though heavy rent subsidies should be a bigger priority there but also complaining about how there is lack of transit through these neighborhoods.

    . . . But nah, just 2 lanes during certain time periods are more than suffice huh?

      • That’s a big “if” and highly unlikely “when”. The portions of the right-of-way not used for transit is being turned into a green way. Metro’s limited budget and (somewhat) duplicative service makes a Slauson line low on the priority list for limited $

    • What if I told you that worldclass metro systems have rail as well as buses??

      • Yeah of course, I’ve lived short term in the city with the greatest world class metro system of them all and also used their shiny BRT buses that don’t feel like they are gonna break apart every time they go over 25MPH.

        The comment wasn’t to bash on the bus lanes themselves, but the yet horrible execution of them and Metro not doing to even bother advocating themselves for something more. Money is always an

        So yes, a rail line down Slauson with a Bus Only Lane on Florence can exist. . . But in Metro’s eyes that’s apparently too much.