Some of these issues may have occurred in LA Metro’s process for implementing improvements to LA Metro’s second busiest bus corridor, Vermont Ave.
From 2011 to 2013, LA Metro studied potential BRT projects, with a 100+ page consultant report identifying Vermont as suitable for a BRT. In 2013, LA Metro’s board directed staff to start advancing plans for a BRT on Vermont.
From 2013 to 2017, LA Metro had meetings and produced a 70+ study concluding that BRT on Vermont was feasible. From 2017 to 2019, LA Metro had more meetings and produced another 70+ study concluding that the future BRT could be converted to rail in the future.
In 2019, LA Metro’s board told staff to advance the Vermont project into environmental review, studying both BRT and rail options.
LA Metro spent a lot of time bidding out the contract to do the impact study for the project (this can take a year or more), and was set to award a contract in 2021 (including putting the approval on the board agenda), but it was withdrawn.
According to LA Metro’s planning department, the impact study was delayed because there was a directive to gather community input before starting the impact study. This involved more consultants and more community meetings.
Now we are in 2022, and the community input activities have been complete. Now the impact study is scheduled to start in Spring 2023 (perhaps taking 2-5 years), with a rail study starting sometime after 2024.
What is most worrisome is that the Vermont project doesn’t struggle with political support, NIMBYism or worries about inequitable outcomes (LA Metro’s other projects have those issues, risking more delays), the long timeline has been entirely due to a process of endless studies.
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