Wilshire Blvd. gets money for bus-only lanes

Bus riders are closer to a shorter commute. Governor Schwarzenegger alloted $5 million towards 12 miles of a bus-only lane on Wilshire Blvd. -- something transit takers have been clamoring for for years.

That money comes thanks to Proposition 1B, a $20 billion infrastructure bond Cali voters passed in 2006. L.A. County also received public transit funding for the Expo Line and for new and rehabbed buses, for a total of $171 million.

Unfortunately, the bus-only lane project's still not fully funded. StreetsblogLA reports that Metro Spokesperson Marc Littman said more federal funds are expected in the next year, but even that won't be enough to move the project into construction.

So it may still be a while before bus riders gleefully zoom past passenger car drivers, stuck in gridlock gritting their teeth....

Photo by Payton Chung via Flickr

Comments

[Mike]

I don't know what sort of brain fog is going on here. Does no one remember that there were rush-hour bus-only lanes on Wilshire from the city of Santa Monica to Westwood that were removed just a year ago?! We had them in place.

And now there isn't enough money to implement the new plan? I think the first step in making the plan less expensive would have been to not removed the bus only lanes in the first place.

Gah!

[Damien Newton]

Hi Mike,

That bus only lane was removed at the request of the city because they felt it didn't do enough to reduce bus travel time on it's own for the congestion that it caused. The City was supportive of having the bus only lane all the way from downtown to Santa Monica. While I don't agree with the city's contention that getting rid of the mini-bus only lane was a good idea while we waited for the longer route, the city did endorse the longer route last summer and is helping Metro raise the remaining needed funds.