The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (Metro) North Hollywood to Pasadena Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project is scheduled to be completed in 2028, just in time for the Olympics. The Colorado Boulevard portion of this project is currently in the utility exploration phase.
According to Metro’s website, the project includes a dedicated bus lane that will cause Colorado Boulevard to go from two lanes of car traffic to one between Hudson and Mentor avenues.
President of the Eagle Rock Chamber of Commerce Michael Nogueira said this project will hurt local businesses and residents by removing parking and right-hand turn lanes.
“The BRT is supposed to start in October, and we’re waiting to see what happens, but it is going to ruin this community,” Nogueira said. “Parking, everything in the left-hand turn lane, we [Eagle Rock Chamber of Commerce] are totally against it; it’s gonna affect and kill the businesses.”
Former president of the Silver Lake Chamber of Commerce Natalie Freidberg said she was a member of the Beautiful Boulevard group of stakeholders who pushed Metro to create a better project for the community.
“Younger people don’t always have a license,” Freidberg said. “Not everyone can afford to have a car, and this opens up the street to other forms of transportation. This project will make the street more accessible and equitable.”
Councilmember and former tenants’ rights attorney Ysabel Jurado said via email she is holding biweekly meetings with Metro to ensure the voices of the community are heard.
“I support the NoHo–Pasadena BRT project and its goal of bringing faster, more reliable, zero-emission transit to Eagle Rock,” Jurado said via email. “But support for better transit does not mean giving any project a blank check on implementation.”
Jurado said via email she will be holding Metro, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) and other responsible departments to the concerns of the community members.
“Residents and small businesses have raised legitimate concerns about cut-through traffic, parking changes and construction impacts, and those concerns deserve concrete answers and solutions,” Jurado said via email.
Owner of Native Boutique Michelle Cook-Helseth said she remains concerned for her business, especially now that she has seen multiple businesses in Eagle Rock close down only to be replaced with a vacant storefront.
“[Landlords] evicted [businesses] and hiked up the rents,” Cook-Helseth said. “Now the spaces aren’t even filled — they’re vacant.”
Cook-Helseth said she was expecting a better response to her concerns from her local government. Cook-Helseth said she feels as if her voice, and the voices of other business owners, are being ignored.
“We’re all small, little businesses, mom-and-pops here,” Cook-Helseth said. “About 85 to 90 percent of the businesses are all women-owned. Out of those, 50 to 60 percent are women of color. You think they care about us?”
Nogueira said he is skeptical of people using the BRT because he views it as unsafe and impractical.
“It’s not like the bus is going down four or five miles and taking you to the beach — that would be a different story, that’s a destination point,” Nogueira said. “They’re just taking you down to Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena.”
Freidberg said the BRT will improve business because studies show that pedestrians who are walking to the bus stops will be more likely to shop when compared to drivers who drive by.
“If people are moving more slowly, then they will be more likely to come back and check out a business that they noticed,” Freidberg said.
Cook-Helseth said she believes the BRT will not bring in new customers because Eagle Rock is a small neighborhood, not a destination spot.
“People who are taking buses are not coming to spend big bucks in a boutique, [and] are not coming to buy hardware and supplies, or cheese at a cheese shop or come to these restaurants,” Cook-Helseth said.
Freidberg said she is noticing the community becoming antagonistic towards one another.
“It’s very sad that this project has had neighbors fighting about it, because really, we all deeply care for Eagle Rock; we may just have different visions about what is best for the community,” Freidberg said.
Jurado said via email she hopes to keep responding to community feedback in order to ensure better transit and to respect the demands of the local residents.
“Eagle Rock deserves both better transit and a project that respects the community it serves,” Jurado said via email.
Contact Edgar Zatarain at zatarain@oxy.edu
