Metro officials held the first of four public meetings to discuss alternatives for
making it easier for buses to operate on Wilshire Boulevard from downtown to
Santa Monica. (Richie Duchon)

Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials introduced alternative proposals to a $31.5 million Bus Rapid Transit project at a public meeting Monday night in West Los Angeles.

The Bus Rapid Transit project would create dedicated bus lanes on Wilshire Boulevard during morning and evening rush hours to encourage increased ridership and raise average bus speeds on the crowded corridor. The bus lanes would operate on 9.6 miles of Wilshire Blvd. from near downtown to the east edge of Beverly Hills and from the west edge of Beverly Hills to the Santa Monica/Los Angeles border.

This particular Bus Rapid Transit system has been controversial since it was proposed. Businesses fear losing parking and customers and L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and others are pushing for a subway to run under Wilshire Boulevard. That could mean spending millions on bus lanes that would be destroyed during subway construction, which is still at least a decade away. Metro considers the lanes a transitional solution until the subway comes.

Metro representatives presented attendees gathered at the Felicia Mahood Senior Center with a hypothetical choice: add an extra lane of traffic on Wilshire Blvd. on the West side for the mile between Malcolm and Comstock avenues or shift federal dollars to repave 5.1 miles of Wilshire Blvd. on the east side of Beverly Hills -- the original project calls for repaving 2.8 miles of Wilshire.

"Without federal funding, this project does not happen," said Rex Gephart, Regional Transit Planning Director for the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Two other potential alternatives included installing the dedicated bus lanes on selected sections of Wilshire Blvd. or abandoning the Bus Rapid Transit project altogether. But those plans would not be eligible for federal funding. The Federal Transit Administration will pay for 74 percent of the $31.5 million project, with Metro funding 16 percent and the city of Los Angeles covering the remaining 10 percent.

"It's a good promotion for riding the buses," said Erick Homiak, a long-time Metro user and Bus Riders Union member. "You could be stuck in your car, stuck in traffic," or commuting faster on a bus, he said. Homiak, who has asthma, is also concerned with how the project might affect air quality.

Next month, Metro will begin a more in-depth study than initially conducted to again determine the effect these bus lanes would have on traffic, air quality, parking, and noise.

At a series of four meetings in November 2008, some commuters expressed concerns that the project would worsen already slow-moving traffic for vehicles on Wilshire Blvd. and at nearby intersections.

"This whole neighborhood is really messed up with traffic and I don't know whether it would be better or worse in the short-term [with the Bus Rapid Transit project]," said Larry Taylor, a bus and private vehicle commuter who is on the West Los Angeles Neighborhood Council.

Others at the meeting questioned how many people Metro realistically expects to start riding the bus as a result of bus lane improvements and advocated for the program as a way to reduce air pollution. Metro will explain the Bus Rapid Transit project and potential alternatives at three additional meetings this Wednesday, Thursday, and next Tuesday. Before the new study begins, Metro will accept public comments until Oct. 23.

Metro will lead a new Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Assessment study in November. The city and county of Los Angeles will also be involved. A study of traffic patterns has already begun, with 17 intersections on Wilshire Blvd. and 57 on parallel corridors under review.