The city of West Hollywood is getting the word out about Metro’s planned installation of new bus priority lanes running along 5.9 miles of N. La Brea Avenue in the cities of Los Angeles and West Hollywood as part of its La Brea Avenue Bus Priority Lanes project.

The first phase of the project will be installed between Sunset Boulevard and Olympic Boulevard with a future extension further south to Coliseum Street expected later next year. Though most of the project is in the city of Los Angeles, the first phase includes three blocks of N. La Brea Avenue in the city of West Hollywood from Romaine Street to Fountain Avenue.

Construction started Monday, Dec. 5, and will occur Monday through Thursday between 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. and between 7 and 9 p.m. throughout the month of December. Construction will not occur on holidays or on weekends in December. Work activities will continue through mid-January 2023. Work in January will occur Monday through Thursday between 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. and between 7 and 9 p.m., as well as Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., throughout the month.

Curbside parking and travel lanes along this route will be intermittently closed during this period for one block at a time while crews install new signage and striping on the roadway. While one lane of traffic will be maintained in both directions throughout construction, residents and visitors are advised to plan routes, mindful of impacts. Bus service will be maintained throughout installation. Temporary signage will offer detour information for pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists.

City staff members are coordinating with Metro on the implementation of shared bus/bike lanes that were recommended for this segment of La Brea Avenue in the city’s adopted Pedestrian and Bicycle Mobility Plan. Within the first phase of the project, including all portions within West Hollywood, the new bus lanes will operate on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and again from 3 and 7 p.m., replacing the additional travel lane in each direction that currently becomes available during peak hours when curbside parking is prohibited.

The goal of the project is to improve speed and reliability for existing transit service on La Brea Avenue including Metro’s Line 212 bus service and West Hollywood’s free Cityline Commuter service, which provides free rush-hour and Saturday evening service to and from Hollywood and Highland and the Metro B line every 15 minutes. Once installed, drivers will be prohibited from driving in the new bus priority lanes during weekday peak hours except when making right-hand turns. The new bus priority lanes will be enforced by the city’s parking enforcement staff just as existing peak-hour no-parking restrictions are today.

Seventy-five percent of bus riders on this corridor do not own cars and use the bus system at least five times per week. Additionally, all three alternative routes under consideration for Metro’s future Northern Extension of the Crenshaw/LAX light rail line also include a stop at Santa Monica Boulevard and La Brea Avenue, so bus lanes may also one day extend the reach of future rail service.

For more details about the La Brea bus lane project, visit metro.net/labrea or review Metro’s project fact sheet. For reporters and members of the media seeking additional information, contact Metro’s community relations manager, Julia Brown, at (213)922-1340 or brownju@ metro.net.