Council Gives Green Light to Bus Shelters on LAX Route

By Olin Ericksen
Staff Writer

May 13 -- Revving up for the first City-operated, Countywide rapid transit bus line to LAX, the City Council on Tuesday night gave the green light to design 28 bus stops along the heavily traveled route.

Construction of the bus “shelters,” four of them in Santa Monica, is the next step in launching the “Rapid Blue” line -- scheduled to begin rolling June 27 -- that is expected to transport passengers up to 30 percent faster than regular buses along the 12-mile Lincoln Boulevard stretch, according to transit officials.

The new line, which includes a new fleet of busses specifically designed to transport travelers to and from LAX, comes at a critical time as traffic along some sections of the corridor is estimated to crawl along at six miles-per-hour.

“Lincoln cannot carry any more vehicles, and the only way to get more people moving through there faster with more people is to change the emphasis to public transport,” said Paul Casey, senior transit programs analyst for the Big Blue Bus.

“We can’t do that without demolishing the City because we are already so built up,” said Casey. “The only answer is this bus service.”

A report presented a Tuesday’s council meeting confirms that “while travel demand along the corridor continues to increase, major intersections operate at service level ‘F,’ used to define ‘breakdown’ flow where the amount of traffic approaching a point exceeds the amount which can traverse the point.”

Proposed developments, such as the mega-residential project called Playa Vista, and the LAX expansion -- estimated by some to eventually bring in an additional 186,000 passengers per day to the airport from surrounding counties -- could further frustrate drivers.

“Those were things that we recognized as factors if the projects are completed as designed,” said Casey. “They will definitely add to the demand along Lincoln.”

City transit officials are banking on the logic that travelers will hop aboard the “Blue Line” if the line travels at least as fast as surrounding traffic.

“The roadway cannot accommodate more vehicles at peak periods, but bus priority projects in this country and around the world have demonstrated that significant numbers of automobile commuters will shift to bus transit if it is reliable and at least as fast as journeys by car,” according to the staff report.

A 30 percent increase in speed has been achieved in models with a “combination of limited stops, low floor buses, signal priority and bus-only lanes,” transit officials wrote in the report.

Although there is no bus-only lane dedicated on Lincoln Boulevard, Council member Kevin McKeown said there “has been some talk of it” by the Lincoln Boulevard Task Force and that City officials are “considering it.”

City transit officials also confirmed they have been conducting studies and gathering census information along Lincoln Boulevard for such a lane, but stress nothing will take place unless it is approved by City officials, adding that they are in the preliminary phases of examining the option.

“If it happens, we would not do it by taking away an existing travel lane on Lincoln,” said Casey.

If any lane is dedicated, Casey said, it would only operate during peak rush hours and would hypothetically use the lane normally occupied by street parking along Lincoln Boulevard.

Casey and Dan Dawson, the spokesman for the Big Blue Bus, confirmed studies have been conducted to assure that businesses along Lincoln would have adequate customer parking behind the commercial businesses and side streets during peak rush hour periods.

“Where we find that at rush hour there is alternative parking, there would be restrictions on street parking on Lincoln only, and only done if there is adequate commercial adjacent parking,” said Casey.

Casey added that there would be “no impacts on-street parking for residents if this happens.”

“Installing such a lane also might shave 15 to 20 minutes off a one way trip to the airport at peak periods,” said Casey

Dawson said he will be meeting later this week to discuss the issue, stressing that it is still in its hypothetical stage.

Earlier this year, County transit officials unveiled a plan to dedicate a bus-only lane along the heavily traveled Wilshire Boulevard corridor.

A key component of the LAX rapid bus line will be the newly designed shelters, which artist renderings show will provide an overhang and electronic signage, according to the report.

“An important element of successful Bus Rapid Transit systems is readily identifiable buses and bus stop shelters,” the report said. “As the entry points to the system, bus shelters are the single most important customer interface and an essential element of any bus rapid transit service.”

Officials have not assigned a price tag to the proposed shelter project, most of which will be located within the Los Angeles City limits.

The shelters in Santa Monica will be located on the southbound route at 4th Street and Santa Monica Place and on Lincoln at Pico and at Ocean Park boulevards. The shelter on the northbound route will be on Lincoln at Ocean Park Boulevard.