FAQs

What is the NoHo-Pasadena BRT line?

BRT stands for Bus Rapid Transit. It is intended to provide similar service to light rail transit, using buses in dedicated lanes with faster boarding and more dependable service than local bus service.

The North Hollywood to Pasadena BRT project is one of Metro’s first new transit lines that voters approved as part of 2016’s Measure M. The line will provide service between Eagle Rock, Glendale, and Burbank, and serve final destinations in Pasadena and North Hollywood, with transfers to Metro’s Gold (L) and Red Line (B) train service, Orange Line (G) bus service, and Metrolink train service. The project is currently in its design phase, and is scheduled to start running in 2024.

What will BRT look like in Eagle Rock?

On April 28, 2022, the Metro Board unanimously approved bringing BRT to Eagle Rock on Colorado Boulevard. The plan includes:

• Reallocation of one travel lane for dedicated bus lanes from Eagle Rock Blvd. to Linda Rosa Ave.

• Preservation of landscaped medians

• Parking protected bike lanes

• Preservation of most on-street parking (and space for Al Fresco dining)

• Improved safety along Colorado Boulevard and reduced speeding

• Additional and safer crosswalks

Metro produced a detailed “fly-through” video to study operation of the line during rush hour conditions:

How will BRT impact safety?

Current driving speeds on Colorado are very high, and average above the 35 mph speed limit. Metro’s redesign of Colorado Boulevard will encourage safer driving speeds, while providing new protected bike lanes and signalized crosswalks to improve safety for everyone.

Additionally, dedicated BRT lanes will provide emergency vehicles with clear space to bypass any traffic on Colorado Boulevard. Metro and LADOT analysis shows that the ability for first responders to use these new dedicated lanes will improve emergency response times.

Will Metro’s project remove the landscaped medians?

Metro’s project will greatly expand medians on Colorado and provide increased landscaping and street trees. Metro has committed to centering new plantings on native plants and trees that enhance the flora and fauna within Eagle Rock.

Will BRT remove parking on Colorado Boulevard?

When Metro was reviewing options to bring BRT to Eagle Rock, it had considered an option that would maintain travel lanes but remove most on-street parking. Luckily, Metro elected to proceed with an option that will maintain most parking on Colorado Boulevard, including space that currently hosts Al Fresco outdoor dining.

Metro provided a detailed analysis of parking on Colorado Boulevard, which shows that provided parking will meet the peak demands for parking from before the pandemic.

Most parking will be maintained in areas where parking currently sees high demand, such as between Eagle Rock Boulevard and Glenn Iris Avenue.

When Los Angeles adopted the Colorado Boulevard Specific Plan in 1992 as led by The Eagle Rock Association (TERA), it set out to preserve Eagle Rock’s small town feel and local businesses by discouraging construction of large parking lots or parking structures that would be a nuisance to nearby residents. As a result, many customers depend on on-street parking on Colorado Boulevard to access Eagle Rock businesses. These are key reasons that many Eagle Rock businesses support Metro’s BRT project as a visionary way to preserve and enhance a vibrant business district within Eagle Rock.

Will BRT create traffic?

The beauty of Metro’s BRT plan is that it maintains all travel lanes on Colorado Boulevard in areas where Eagle Rock occasionally sees congestion: adjacent to freeway on and off ramps, and at the Y-intersection of Colorado/Broadway near Eagle Rock Plaza. The plan only reallocates travel lanes in Downtown Eagle Rock.

Metro’s detailed traffic analysis showed that the project will provide limited delay to drivers during peak hours on Colorado Boulevard, but also that it would not create gridlock or significant spillover traffic onto adjacent residential streets.

Metro’s traffic analysis showed that the plan will help to reduce traffic on Colorado Boulevard by diverting 19% of traffic onto the 134 Freeway that currently uses Colorado Boulevard as a bypass. This translates a 19% reduction in noise, pollution, and traffic danger on Eagle Rock’s local streets.

Is BRT a secret plan to build tall buildings in Eagle Rock?

There is no difference under Los Angeles zoning code between the Bus Rapid Transit line and current bus service that has operated on Colorado Boulevard for over two decades. Additionally, the Colorado Boulevard Specific Plan places significant limitations on development on the central section of Colorado Boulevard. Having more dependable, higher quality bus service in Eagle Rock has no impact on allowances for building or development in Eagle Rock. 

Will dedicated bus lanes cause pollution?

Transportation caused by private automobiles is Los Angeles’ highest source of greenhouse gas emissions. Bus Rapid Transit is one of the most effective and affordable tools that we can use to reduce our emissions and pollution in Eagle Rock. This is why bringing BRT service to Eagle Rock is universally supported by local environmental groups, including Sierra Club, Climate Resolve, the Neighborhood Council Sustainability Alliance, the National Resources Defense Council, Food and Water Watch, NELA Climate Collective, the Glendale Environmental Coalition, Pasadena Environmental Advocates, EnviroMetro, and Sunrise Movement LA.

Climate Resolve is one of Los Angeles’ most accomplished and well regarded environmental advocacy organizations. Climate Resolve independently studied Metro’s plan and made a report on why this plan is Eagle Rock’s most important opportunity for climate action. Click below to read the report:

Who are we?

The Beautiful Boulevard concept was developed for Eagle Rockers by Eagle Rockers in late 2020. We correctly recognized that the only one of Metro’s initial proposals that would be accepted by the City of Los Angeles would result in elimination our medians and parking on Colorado Boulevard. By volunteering our time to generate a new, context-sensitive concept, we were able to save Eagle Rock’s medians and Al Fresco dining from removal.

We are excited to see this important transit project moving forward, and will continue to endeavor to make sure that Eagle Rock gets a project that will be a long-term success.