Last week, the Daily Bruin ran a story about a possible public transportation project that would create bus-only lanes along Wilshire Boulevard.
Formally titled the Wilshire Bus Rapid Transit Project, the bus-only lanes would run on Wilshire Boulevard from Valencia Street to Centinela Avenue on the edge of Westwood and Santa Monica.
The service would run during peak rush hour periods and would be funded by the Federal Transit Administration, the city of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
Though it would cost an estimated $31.5 million in renovations, this new system is also expected to improve public transportation via bus by 24 percent.
Many opponents argue that this new lane would only increase traffic during the worst times of congestion because the project would remove a full lane from drivers, but this possible project is a big step in the right direction for Los Angeles.
The downside of the bus-only lanes is they would not run through the portions of Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills.
However, the bus-only lanes, which would be on both sides of Wilshire Boulevard, would be accessible to cars needing to make right turns and open to all traffic outside of the designated peak rush hours.
In recent weeks, gas prices have fallen to slightly more acceptable levels but our nation, and especially Los Angeles, has been too dependent on automobile transportation for far too long.
New York City, Washington D.C. and Boston are just a few examples of metropolitan cities with elaborate yet efficient public transportation systems.
Los Angeles has a greater population than D.C. and Boston, though you wouldn’t know it from our sorely inadequate public transportation system.
Metro specifically should be applauded for continually working to improve the bus system in the face of dwindling numbers and our city’s seemingly lukewarm feelings toward using these buses and other public transportation.
At the very least, the project could persuade drivers who commute on Wilshire to take the bus.
Hopefully, though, setting aside a bus-only lane on one of the busiest streets in the city would draw either more frequency or more bus-goers overall, or both.
The Wilshire Bus Rapid Project has already made an effort to incorporate the public’s feedback into the project and hopefully this will prove a motivating factor once the project is set to be completed in 2011.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the county of Los Angeles and the city of Los Angeles will be holding three meetings to hear feedback about their planned course of action in addition to the first meeting held last Wednesday.
The Daily Bruin also reported that officials estimate the project could cost a lot in road improvements along Wilshire Boulevard but the street has long needed repair.
Metro and the greater city of Los Angeles cannot hope to lure more customers and more frequent customers without giving Angelenos new and improved incentives in taking public transportation.
These two groups’ dedication to improving our public transportation is a valiant effort, even if it is one bus route or bus-only lane at a time.