Imagine: Rapid Transit From Sherman Oaks to Lakeview Terrace

   The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which received public feedback on a half-dozen ideas to ease traffic along Van Nuys Boulevard, will present a proposed solution in early 2012. The 10.2-mile project, dubbed the Van Nuys Boulevard Rapidway, is part of a plan to improve transit service through the Valley.

Metro held a series of three public meetings in early November to gather public input.The Rapidway project would stretch along Van Nuys Boulevard in Lakeview Terrace south to Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks, one of four corridors in the Valley for which improvements are slated. The others are Reseda, Sepulveda and the Lankershim/San Fernando corridors.

 Metro is considering five possible transit solutions:

• A light rail similar to the Metro Red Line but with overhead electrical power and sets of two cars carrying up to 335 passengers;  
• A bus rapid transit line carrying 100 passengers per bus similar to the Metro Orange line;
• A streetcar with overhead electrical power similar to Portland, Ore.'s, with cars of 140 passengers each;
• Improvements such as intersection widening, signal timing and increased bus service;
• A “No Build” solution that continues existing transit services and projects funded through 2035.

The meetings were the first step to assess what residents and commuters feel will best ease traffic problems. At the Van Nuys meeting, held in the Van Nuys Government Center in early November, many favored light rail, a sentiment echoed by Tony Wilkinson, vice chairman of the Panorama City Neighborhood Council

“Light rail is more favorable for transit-oriented development than a busway,” Wilkinson said. “With light rail, places along the line will have significant economic development.”

 Mikie Maloney, who serves on the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council’s Land Use Committee, was concerned that light rail, streetcars or a busway would reduce parking space, especially in Sherman Oaks, where businesses already struggle with insufficient parking.

 “Whatever they build, it will take away lanes from drivers or from parking,” Maloney said. “The street is only so wide.”

 Ron Ziff, who chairs the Neighborhood Council's Land Use Committee, expressed similar concerns over reduced parking and added that the real traffic problem is the Sepulveda Pass through which 337,000 cars pour daily on the 405 Freeway or Sepulveda Boulevard.

 “There’s a 3 1/2-hour traffic jam every weekday morning,” Ziff said. “We need to fix that first.”

 Ziff’s observation is one shared by the Transit Coalition, a Valley-based nonprofit that wants Metro to address Van Nuys and Sepulveda boulevards together.

Bart Reed, the coalition’s executive director, said Wednesday that a more comprehensive solution would involve rail service along Van Nuys Boulevard through a rail tunnel in the Sepulveda Pass, to UCLA.

 “My educated guess is they are going to decide on some sort of bus solution [for Van Nuys Boulevard],” Reed said. “Or if they create light rail and heavy rail [along Sepulveda] then you don’t have a one-seat ride.”

 Funds for the Van Nuys Boulevard Rapidway project come from Measure R, a half-cent increase on the county sales tax, expected to generate $40 billion for transit projects over its 30-year span. But the $68 million targeted for the Van Nuys Boulevard project will likely cover just the planning and environmental assessment stages. Other funds will have to be identified to complete the project by the 2018 target date.

For more information on the Van Nuys Boulevard Rapidway, go to metro.net/vannuys, email vannuys@metro.net or call 818-276-3233.