The Westside Cities Council of Governments is a joint powers authority of cities who, as a group, plan regionally for things such as transportation. They are currently working on a program called Westside Bus Connection which would create bus lanes on Santa Monica Bl, Sepulveda Bl, and La Cienega/Jefferson. In addition to the bus lanes, there would also be improvements for cyclists and pedestrians.
Recently, the COG removed Westchester/Arbor Vitae/Sepulveda south of Centinela from the project list. This is confusing, because if the purpose of the project is to speed up bus service (Big Blue Bus, Culver City and Metro all have multiple lines on this route) , it would make sense to put the bus lanes where they’re needed the most, given LAX traffic.
When pressed as to why, the COG confirmed that these mobility improvements were removed because LAX objected:
Our airport should not have veto power over multimodal improvements, just because they believe that no one would ever do anything but drive to LAX. It’s ironic, but perhaps not surprising, that LAX also believes that people will do nothing but drive to the People Mover station, which of course is connected to Metro Rail and has a bike hub.
Even more ridiculous, the bus lanes on Sepulveda and protected bike lanes on Sepulveda and Westchester/Arbor Vitae were approved as part of Mobility Plan 2035, and are required by Measure HLA when road work is done in the future.
Image from LAXgridlock.com
All of this is in context of the airport — with the approval of the Mayor — plowing ahead with a $1.5B roadway expansion that, according to their own environmental analysis, will make traffic and air pollution worse. You can learn more at laxgridlock.com.
So at the end of the day, we are rejecting bus lanes and safety improvements for cyclists and pedestrians to make room for a massive highway-interchange style project in front of the airport that is likely to undercut demand for Metro Rail service and the People Mover, which we just spend over $4B collectively to construct.
It’s time LA’s leadership stopped Los Angeles World Airports from doing whatever they want, and take a more holistic, data-driven approach to transportation options around LAX. Their roadway project — and, as a result, killing bus lanes and multimodal streets around the airport — is absurd.