Next month, we’re hosting public meetings about the Vermont Transit Corridor Project (VTC for short), a 12.4-mile stretch of Vermont Avenue running from Sunset Boulevard in the north to 120th Street in the south.
Vermont Avenue is one of the busiest bus corridors in Los Angeles County (neck and neck with Wilshire Boulevard); our two bus lines that serve this corridor (Line 204 and Line 754) see over 36,000 bus boardings daily.
That’s no surprise to us, given that this corridor is home to so many educational institutions, medical services, recreational facilities, and worship centers: think Los Angeles City College, University of Southern California, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center, Exposition Park, and the Memorial Coliseum. The corridor also intersects with the B, D, C, and E rail lines, and various bus lines as well.
Unfortunately, Vermont Avenue is also one of the most congested corridors in Los Angeles, which has slowed bus speeds and hampered our riders’ overall experience. We aim to change that. How? Keep reading.
Using $425 million in funding from the Measure M transportation sales tax approved by voters in 2016, our plans for improving transit in this corridor will happen over several stages.
- Near-term bus upgrades to begin early 2025
- Medium-term Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) by 2028
- A long-term rail study project
This upcoming series of public meetings will provide project updates on both the bus improvements planned for early next year and BRT planned for 2028. The near-term bus lanes are planned for two sections of the corridor:
- Sunset Boulevard to Wilshire Boulevard in the north
- Gage Avenue to the Vermont/Athens C Line station in the south
During these public meetings, you will learn more about the near-term bus-only lanes and plans for the BRT and other project enhancements (crosswalks with higher visibility and improved safety, rail-like stations, and improved lighting) planned for that stage.
You’ll also learn about Senate Bill 922 (SB922), which exempts active transportation projects — including BRT — from the California Environment Quality Act (CEQA) and instead requires that Metro prepare three reports on 1) Racial Equity Analysis, 2) Residential Displacement and 3) Business Case. We’ll be sharing information from all three of these reports in the meeting, where we plan to gather your feedback and answer any questions you might have. Join us!
In-Person Meetings
- Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024, 10 a.m., Masjid Omar ibn Al-Khattab, 1025 W. Exposition Boulevard, Los Angeles, Calif. Transit: Expo/Vermont E line Station: Bus lines 204/754; Dash F
- Monday, Dec. 9, 2024, 6 p.m., Crenshaw Christian Center, 7901 Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles, Calif. Transit: Bus lines 204/754
- Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, 6 p.m., LA City College Student Union, Room A, 798 N. Heliotrope Drive, Los Angeles, Calif. Transit: Vermont/Santa Monica B Line Station: Bus Lines 10; 204/754
Virtual Meetings
- Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, Noon, Virtual Meeting: tinyurl.com/MetroVTC1211
- Monday, Dec. 16, 2024, 6 p.m., Virtual Meeting: tinyurl.com/MetroVTC1216
If you need interpretation services or other accommodations, please contact Metro at least 72 hours before the virtual or in-person meetings at (323) 466-3876.
To learn more, visit metro.net/vermont. You can also reach the project team by email at vermontcorridor@metro.net or via phone at (213) 922-2846.
We hope to see you there!
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Lol wasn’t this suppose to be a ‘quick build’ like 5 years ago?? The community overwhelmingly supports it as you learned from the many many meetings you’ve already had. Just build it!
I think it’s real sad that Vermont Avenue isn’t a target for upgrade to extend the Heavy Rail (A) Red line into south Angeles is a real slap in the face to offer BRT transit to this area clearly is over 600,000 residents from Santa Monica BLDV all the way to imperial.
Like I told someone else, good luck convincing the feds to prioritize this project over every other project in the country to fully fund to see it become a reality by 2035 at the earliest.
But until the more realistic late 2050s goal when the Red Line Extension to the I-105 becomes a reality, A BRT is the next best option.
Yes, I agree, screw Metro for continuously slacking off on this project when the overwhelming support is there for these projects, but I don’t expect to be 100% truthful about why the slacking off to get this BRT Line built already.
The track geometry at Wilshire/Vermont doesn’t allow that to happen whatsoever.
It actually is possible, but either red or purple line passengers will have to deal with 40 min delays for about a year while they resolve that issue.
People will literally make up excuses as to why Metro built the station the way it is, but the end result is this mess. Metro failing to be proactive at its finest.
You’re not taking businesses, excavation and decking into consideration. The trackage goes under buildings as the lines maneuvers to transition between Wilshire Bl and Vermont Av. Wilshire/Vermont itself is at an angle underneath a plaza. It’s just not possible. But I’d love to be proven wrong.
First we will waste money doing “near term’ improvements. Then waste more money doing a BRT line, which will then be partially removed to build rail. What should be happening is getting going on the rail line planning, enviro reports etc. now. Get to the point of shovel ready.Then much line Wilshire, build it in segments. Unfortunately, I see this line at least 3 or 4 major lines down the list.
I see East SFV, SE Gateway, Sepulveda Pass, East LA extension, K Line extensions all ahead of this line. In my opinion, it should be 3rd after SE Gateway and Sepulveda Pass. The line should be light rail as south of Slauson you have wide enough ROW for rail. North of Florence, subway to reach the all important connections at Expo Line and Wilshire Line.
“ The line should be light rail as south of Slauson you have wide enough ROW for rail. North of Florence, subway to reach the all important connections at Expo Line and Wilshire Line.”
What? That in itself would also be also be a waste of money. At grade rail is the reason why no one in LA takes our system seriously. At grade rail is slow and unreliable.
I’m very excited about this project but I sincerely hope it is a true BRT instead of simply painting a bus lane like those found on parts of Wilshire and Figueroa. In other words, I hope it is as useful and convenient as the Orange and Silver lines. We especially need true BRT between Wilshire and the 10 as this seems to be the most congested portion of Vermont Ave.
Mexico City has a number of BRT lines that are awesome because they don’t share the lane with cars and the busses are not stuck in traffic.
It doesn’t appear as though there is a stop at Wilshire/Vermont. I hope that plan changes. It makes more sense to have a transfer point to all connecting trains. There will be transfers to both E line and Green line trains but no transfer to the Red and Purple lines. If one wanted to transfer they’d have to walk between the stations on Wilshire/Vermont and 3rd/Vermont. Why not instead have a station at Wilshire/Vermont so that one can transfer seamlessly without walking 4 blocks?
It’s there, its been there since the original plans, that map is just messed up. its a transfer station to 2 subway Lines, and the BRT is literally the precursor for the Subway extension going south, so yes there is a stop there.
So, speaking of that upcoming bus stopover at the corner of Vermont Avenue and 120th Street, I wish that the Vermont Avenue Transit Corridor south extend going further south on Vermont Avenue, and then make a left turn on Rosecrans Avenue, and then make a right turn on Figueroa Street, and then go all the way to the Harbor Gateway Transit Center, and right after that, go vice versa. That way, the Harbor Gateway Transit Center should make better bus connections including the Metro J Line (Route 950) going further southbound to the town of San Pedro. Okay? Thank you once again for your generosity.
With 36,000 boardings per day, BRT certainly can handle the demand—there is no need to “upgrade” to rail later on. We hope Metro can design a high-quality BRT corridor in line with the BRT Standard (https://itdp.org/library/standards-and-guides/the-bus-rapid-transit-standard/).
Near-term bus upgrades were supposed to be started in early 2025 and completed by Summer 2025. Summer is over and I dont think there has been any progress, at least not North of Expo Park. I’m beginning to get concerned this project will not be completed by 2028. I SINCERELY hope I’m wrong. I haven’t heard a peep about this highly anticipated project since late 2024. I wonder whats going on?