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One Ga teway Plaza Los Angeles, CA 90012-2952

2 13-922.2000

metro. net 20

PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING COMMITTEE FEBRUARY 20, 2013

SUBJECT: LOS ANGELES COUNTY BUS RAPID TRANSIT AND STREET DESIGN IMPROVEMENT STUDY

ACTION: RECEIVE AND FILE

RECOMMENDATION

Receive and file this update on the Los Angeles County Bus Rapid Transit and Street Design Improvement Study.

ISSUE

At the August 4, 2011 meeting, the Board approved a motion directing us to identify, analyze and recommend a minimum of five corridors that could accommodate an effective Bus Rapid Transit (BRT} system, including dedicated bus lanes, throughout the County. This report provides an update regarding the status of the Los Angeles County Bus Rapid Transit and Street Design Improvement Study.

DISCUSSION

The purpose of the Los Angeles County Bus Rapid Transit and Street Design Improvement Study is to develop recommendations for an effective countywide Bus Rapid Transit (BRT} system that includes dedicated peak hour bus lanes and/or other general bus speed improvements using evaluation and implementation criteria established as part of the study. The study will also identify feasible and cost-effective techniques to improve the quality of street life at bus stops along the identified BRT corridors.

In October 2011, the Board approved the strategy for identifying these corridors and authorized us to retain a consultant for needed technical assistance and support in developing recommendations for a countywide BRT system. In March 2012, we returned to the Planning & Programming Committee with an oral update on the project status followed by another written Board update in June 2012. The study is being conducted in collaboration with a special project advisory committee consisting of the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT}, the Los Angeles County

NEXT STEPS

We will complete this study and return to the Board in May 2013 with a final report, highlighting a countywide bus rapid transit system of approximately 12 corridors, and identifying a subset of approximately 5 corridors that are most promising for near term implementation, should the Board choose to proceed with BRT corridor project development.

ATTACHMENTS

A. List of Potential Candidate Corridors B. Map of Potential Candidate Corridors

Prepared by: Brad McAIIester, Executive Officer, (213) 922-2814 Martha Butler, Director, (213) 922-7651 Annelle Albarran, Transportation Planning Manager, (213) 922-4025

Los Angeles County Bus Rapid Transit and Street Design Improvement Study Page 3

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Department of Public Works (LACDPW), the Bus Riders Union, Metro Operations, some select transit agencies, and a number of other key stakeholders. The first of several planned project advisory committee meetings was held on June 26, 2012, to discuss the study's goals and objectives as well as the path forward for identifying the ideal corridors for BRT.

In July 2012, the project team identified over 100 transit corridors to begin evaluating in order to ensure a countywide study that includes the county's larger municipal operators. The following guided the identification of these 100 plus corridors: Metro services with headways of 15 minutes or better; recommendations from an earlier Countywide Bus Speed Improvement Study (CBSIP); recommendations from the project advisory committee; other recent and/or current transit reports/studies; and several Long Range Transportation Plans (Southern California Association of Governments, San Bernardino Associated Governments, and Metro). Additional considerations included: connections to the existing and planned near-term BRT/Rail network, including Measure R projects; corridors with the potential to improve intra-county connectivity; corridors with the potential to improve countywide/regional connectivity; and corridors that are transit deficient, which would benefit from enhanced or new connectivity/access.

Upon further analysis of the initial 1 00 plus corridors, 43 were selected for further evaluation. (See Attachment A for project list and Attachment B for countywide map of 43 corridors under study). The criteria used to guide the selection of these 43 transit corridors were selected in order to identify the top most promising corridors for an effective countywide BRT system. These criteria included ridership potential, regional connectivity/access to public transportation options, and adjacent corridor plans. In order to determine a corridor's ridership potential, socio-economic data was used. The use of this data allowed for the equal treatment between corridors with existing transit service and those without and included: population density; employment density; household income; and car ownership. Each of these four socio-economic factors used were given equal weighting in the analysis to compile a "transit suitability index".

We are now beginning to evaluate the 43 corridors to select approximately 12 corridors that create a countywide bus rapid transit system, which could include different types of bus rapid transit treatments, including bus lanes and/or other general bus speed improvements. From this system and pursuant to the original Board motion for this activity, we will recommend approximately 5 corridors that are the most promising candidates for near term implementation. If the Board chooses to select corridors for further development, such corridors would need to seek funding beyond the 2009 Long Range Transportation Plan and need to proceed to project level corridor analysis and environmental review.

Los Angeles County Bus Rapid Transit and Street Design Improvement Study Page2

Martha Welborne, FAIA Executive Director, Countywide Planning

Arthur T. Leahy Chief Executive Officer

Los Angeles County Bus Rapid Transit and Street Design Improvement Study Page4

LOS ANGELES COUNTY BUS RAPID TRANSIT AND STREET DESIGN IMPROVEMENT STUDY

Potential Candidate Corridors

1. 3rd Street (Los Angeles) 23. Reseda 2. 7th Street (Long Beach) 24. Roscoe 3. Alvarado/Hoover 25. Rosemead

ATTACHMENT A

4. Artesia 26. San Fernando/Lankershim 5. Atlantic/Fair Oaks 6. Azusa 7. Broadway 8. Central 9. Fairfax 10. Figueroa 11. Firestone-Century 12. Hawthorne 13. Hollywood-Burbank 14. Huntington Dr East/Foothill Bl 15. La Brea 16. Lakewood 17. Lincoln 18. Manchester/Firestone 19. NE L.A. (Hollywood to Highland Park) 20. Olympic 21. Pasadena to NoHo Rail Connector ( SR 134) 22. Pico

27. Santa Anita 28. Santa Monica 29. Slauson 30. Soto 31 . South Bay PCH 32. Sunset 33. Valley 34. Van Nuys 35. Vanowen 36. Venice 37. Vermont 38. Vernon/La Cienega 39. Washington 40. Western 41 . Westwood 42. Whittier 43. Willow

HILLS

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