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North Hollywood to Pasadena Transit Corridor
The North Hollywood to Pasadena Transit Corridor (NoHo to Pasadena BRT) extends approximately 18 miles and is a key regional connection between the San Fernando and San Gabriel Valleys with connections to the Metro B (Red), G (Orange) and L (Gold) Lines, as well as Metrolink and other municipal bus lines.
Overview
Metro released the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) to address the over 2.500 issues and comments collected during last year’s Environmental Scoping period as part of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) process.
The DEIR was released for review and comment from October 26, 2020 to December 28, 2020. All comments received will be considered for the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR), expected late Spring 2021.
The North Hollywood to Pasadena BRT Project is funded by Measure M and Senate Bill 1, which provide $267 million in funding. The project has an anticipated opening date in 2024.
Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), is a high-quality bus service that provides faster, more reliable and more convenient service through several key attributes:
- Enhanced stations with passenger amenities, such as real-time arrival/departure information
- Dedicated bus lanes that are physically separated from traffic
- Off-board fare collection and/or all-door boarding
- Frequent service with limited stops
- Transit signal priority giving buses more green light time
- Branded vehicles and stations
BRT is designed to rival the speed, capacity, and comfort of high-quality rail lines. BRT can reduce the number of cars on the road, decrease time spent idling in traffic, and can improve air quality with the use of electric zero-emission vehicles.
BRT helps riders avoid some of the normal delays typically experienced through regular transit service that travels in mixed-flow traffic. BRT also has the potential to increase transit access, improve regional mobility, and ease commute times.
Metro has completed a Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the North Hollywood to Pasadena BRT Corridor Project pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Metro is the lead agency for the EIR. The Draft EIR was prepared in accordance with Sections 15120 through 15132 of the CEQA guidelines. Read the DEIR here .
The project analyzed as part of the Draft EIR is a proposed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line that would extend approximately 18 miles from North Hollywood to Pasadena and serve as a regional connection between the San Fernando and San Gabriel Valleys.
Generally, the proposed project would include:
- Dedicated bus lanes in areas where there is adequate existing street width. The configuration of dedicated bus lanes could be:
> curb-running
> side-running - alongside existing parking and bicycle facilities
> median- and/or center-running - in the center of the roadway or alongside existing roadway medians - Include 21-23 potential stations*
- Enhanced facilities and features for a premium transit service, including signal priority and frequent service
- Potential First/Last Mile improvements to further enhance mobility and access to the proposed BRT Project
*More specific determinations regarding station locations are dependent upon further design development and environmental analysis.
The purpose of the Draft EIR is to disclose the impacts of the Project on the environment. The Draft EIR will address the following topics:
- Aesthetics
- Agriculture/Forestry Resources
- Air Quality
- Biological Resources
- Cultural Resources
- Energy
- Geology/Soils
- Greenhouse Gas Emissions
- Hazards and Hazardous Materials
- Hydrology/Water Quality
- Land Use/Planning
- Mineral Resources
- Noise
- Population/Housing
- Public Services
- Recreation
- Transportation
- Tribal Cultural Resources
- Utilities/Service Systems
- Wildfire
Project design features and mitigation measures to reduce potentially significant impacts during construction and operation were identified in the Draft EIR .
Visit the virtual platform now at NoHoPasBRT.com .
Route Options
The Draft EIR will analyze the Proposed Project including its various route options. The BRT would primarily run along surface streets with some segments running along State Route 134 in mixed-flow freeway lanes.
Route Options Being Considered
North Hollywood
Within North Hollywood, the proposed project begins/ends at the North Hollywood Red/Orange Line Station. From the station, two different route options are being considered:
1) Via Lankershim Bl
2) Via Vineland Av
Both routes would continue onto the SR 134 at Riverside Drive.
Burbank
Within Burbank, the route exits the SR 134 at Hollywood Way to serve the Burbank Media District, continuing along Olive Av to Glenoaks Bl
Glendale
Within Glendale, the BRT route would operate on Glenoaks Bl to Central Av. Three different route options are being considered:
1) At Central Av, the BRT could merge onto the SR 134 to Harvey Av and continue east toward Eagle Rock.
2) Via Central Av to Broadway
3) Via Central Av to Colorado St
Broadway and Colorado St are being considered for east-west travel within Glendale. Each option provides connections to different key destinations within the city, including the Glendale Galleria, the Americana at Brand and the new Armenian Museum.
Eagle Rock
The BRT would serve the community of Eagle Rock via one of two potential routes:
- Along Colorado Bl before merging onto the SR 134 at Linda Rosa Av
- Along SR-134 with potential stops at Harvey Dr and Figueroa Bl to serve the community before merging back onto the freeway heading east
To the west, either of these two route options could connect to the street or freeway route options in Glendale. To the east, both route options would continue on the SR-134 into Pasadena.
Pasadena
Within Pasadena, various route options are being considered:
- The BRT could exit the SR-134 at Fair Oaks Av and head south to connect to the Memorial Park Gold Line Station via Raymond Av. It would then continue east on Colorado Bl in mixed-flow lanes to Hill Av at Pasadena City College;
- The BRT could also exit the SR-134 at Orange Grove Bl and continue east on Colorado Av in mixed-flow lanes to Hill St at Pasadena City College; or
- The BRT could operate as a couplet in mixed-flow lanes, with buses traveling east along Green St to Hill Av at Pasadena City College. On the return trip, the BRT would travel west along Union St.
Proposed Project
Project Background
Metro’s 2013 Countywide Bus Rapid Transit (CBRT) and Street Design Improvement Study identified the North Hollywood to Pasadena corridor as the most heavily-traveled corridor without a premium bus service. As a result, the corridor was selected as one of the first to be studied for potential implementation of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT).
In February 2017, Metro completed the North Hollywood to Pasadena BRT Corridor Technical Study , which explored the feasibility of implementing BRT, including bus lanes and other key BRT features. The Technical Study identified a Primary Street and Primary Freeway Concept, each with route variations, as the most promising alternatives to address transportation challenges in the corridor.
In 2018, the Metro Board of Directors directed staff to complete an Alternatives Analysis (AA ) to identify alignments that will be studied as part of the Project’s Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR).
In June 2019, Metro initiated the Draft EIR that will study various route options that include both street-running and freeway-running segments that will connect the North Hollywood Metro Station to Pasadena City College.
About the Corridor
The corridor parallels the SR-134 Freeway and has more than 700,000 daily trips coming into the study area from the San Fernando and San Gabriel Valleys. The corridor extends from the North Hollywood Metro Red/Orange Line Station in the west to Pasadena City College in the east, serving cities and communities within North Hollywood, Burbank, Glendale, Eagle Rock and Pasadena.
The corridor has a dense residential population with many cultural, entertainment, shopping and employment areas distributed throughout. Several major employment and activity centers exist within the corridor, including the North Hollywood Arts District, Burbank Media District, Downtown Burbank, Downtown Glendale, Downtown Eagle Rock, and the Old Pasadena, Playhouse and South Lake Districts within Pasadena.
Project Description
The proposed BRT Project would provide improved and reliable transit service to meet the mobility needs of residents, employees, and visitors who travel within the corridor. Objectives of the proposed project include:
- Advancing a premium transit service that is more competitive with auto travel.
- Improving accessibility for disadvantaged communities.
- Improving transit access to major local and regional activity and employment centers.
- Enhancing connectivity to Metro and other regional transit services.
- Providing improved passenger comfort and convenience.
- Supporting community plans and transit-oriented community goals.roject
