North Hollywood to Pasadena Transit Corridor

North Hollywood to Pasadena Transit Corridor
Overview
Status	Approved; construction underway
Termini	North Hollywood Colorado/Hill
Service
Type	Bus rapid transit
System	Los Angeles Metro Busway
Operator(s)	Metro (LACMTA)
History
Planned opening	2027 (2027)
Route map   G Line to Chatsworth North Hollywood      B Line to Union Station Vineland/Hesby Olive/Riverside Alameda/Naomi Olive/Verdugo Olive/Lake I-5 Olive/San Fernando Glenoaks/Alameda Glenoaks/Western Glenoaks/Grandview Glenoaks/Pacific SR 134 Central/Lexington Broadway/Brand Broadway/Glendale Broadway/Verdugo SR 2 Eagle Rock Plaza Colorado/Eagle Rock Colorado/Townsend Memorial Park   Colorado/Los Robles Colorado/Lake Colorado/Hill All stations are accessible

The North Hollywood to Pasadena Transit Corridor is a proposed 18-mile (29 km) bus rapid transit line in the Los Angeles Metro Busway system in Los Angeles, California. It is planned to operate between Pasadena and the North Hollywood station in the San Fernando Valley, where it will connect with the B Line in the Los Angeles Metro Rail system and the G Line in the Los Angeles Metro Busway system. The project completed its scoping phase in 2019, was approved by the Metro board on April 28, 2022 and is estimated to be completed by 2027. It is part of Metro's Twenty-eight by '28 initiative.

No current Metro Rail conversion plans are scheduled, although the city of Glendale is proposing a streetcar service in its downtown area, connecting the region with "last mile/first mile" service.

The east to west/west to east route will have signal priority at traffic lights, and will have exclusive lanes for most of the route. Metro reports the cost is $448 million. Metro received comments it would have to accommodate the annual Rose Parade route on Colorado Boulevard. Destinations along the route include Old Pasadena, The Paseo, and Pasadena City College and The Americana at Brand outdoor mall. It would also connect with Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, The Walt Disney Studios, The Burbank Studios, the Downtown Burbank Metrolink station, and Universal Studios Lot.

In November 2020, Metro launched the details of the route, its stops, where the lanes reside, and whether or not they are exclusive or in mixed traffic. Public comments were open until December 10, 2020. In April 2022, Metro approved the Environmental Impact Report for the line, but was later sued in July 2022 as the meeting where the EIR was approved allegedly violated California's Brown Act. However, the lawsuit failed, as confirmed in December 2023.

Initial Alternative Analysis

The BRT service is planned to connect L.A.'s San Fernando Valley communities of Burbank, North Hollywood, and Glendale with the San Gabriel Valley community of Pasadena, via Eagle Rock. An alternatives analysis study considered three main options for the route: a street-running option, an all freeway option on the SR 134 freeway, or a hybrid of both. Metro’s board of directors approved advancing a mostly street-running route with some variations for more study as part of the project’s Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR). Community meetings took place for Metro to weigh routes environmental issues and any other issue that could be address during the DEIR until the end of 2019.

• Pasadena/Eagle Rock

In the east portion, the route begins between the Del Mar and Memorial Park stations on the A Line. Heads west along Colorado Boulevard to Eagle Rock. Metro proposes multiple options on how it passes Eagle Rock. West through Wilson Avenue, or west on Colorado St. Metro recently added a third route for the DEIR, a SR 134 freeway median route as it heads into Glendale.

• Glendale/Burbank

After Eagle Rock, it will enter Glendale on Broadway or Colorado St and head north for a mile on Central or Brand Avenue through downtown Glendale before heading west on Glenoaks Boulevard into Burbank. The route then makes a southwest turn on Olive Avenue, the same intersection where the Downtown Burbank Metrolink station is located.

• North Hollywood

Leaving the Metrolink station in Burbank, Metro's main option has it heading west on Olive Avenue and Riverside Drive until reaching Lankershim Boulevard and the B Line's North Hollywood station. Other North Hollywood routes optioned from the Burbank Metrolink station are west on Chandler Boulevard or Magnolia Boulevard with the same terminus. All are under the technical study for possible DEIR.

• Results

The three route options developed in the Alternative Analysis study were ranked according to multiple criteria, including projected ridership, reliability, cost, and community impacts. The ranking recommended the street-running alternative over the freeway and hybrid routes, concluding that its higher ridership and favorable connectivity were worth its additional cost.

Current services

Two express bus services currently operate in the North Hollywood–Glendale–Pasadena corridor, as precursors to the bus rapid transit service. Metro Express route 501 began operation in 2016 between North Hollywood station, Glendale, and Pasadena, as a pilot project which was later made permanent. LADOT Commuter Express route 549 operates from Encino to Pasadena via North Hollywood during weekday rush hours. Both routes use the SR 134 freeway, a highly-traveled and congested corridor.

Proposed station list

In April 2021, Metro presented a community update sheet which narrowed the list of alternatives down to one route based on community feedback. Significant changes to the preferred alternative included a re-routing from Olive Avenue in Burbank onto Alameda Avenue and Buena Vista Street, while consolidating the two nearby proposed stations into one on Alameda and Naomi Street, as well as the elimination of the station connection to the Downtown Burbank Metrolink station due to safety concerns regarding the existing Olive Avenue bridge. In its place, a station was added nearby to Lake Street.

Stations	Date Opening	City/Neighborhood	Major connections and notes
North Hollywood	2027	Los Angeles (North Hollywood)	Park and ride: 1,085 spaces
Vineland/Hesby
Olive/Riverside		Burbank	Warner Bros. Studios, Walt Disney Television
Alameda/Naomi			The Walt Disney Studios, The Burbank Studios, Legendary Entertainment, KCET, iHeartMedia, Fremantle, Providence St. Joseph Medical Center, Johnny Carson Park
Olive/Verdugo			John Burroughs High School
Olive/Lake			Antelope Valley Ventura County Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Olive/San Fernando			Cartoon Network Studios
Glenoaks/Alameda		Burbank (south) Glendale (north)
Glenoaks/Western		Glendale
Glenoaks/Grandview			Grand Central Creative Campus, KABC-TV, DreamWorks Animation
Glenoaks/Pacific
Central/Lexington			Consulate General of Armenia in Los Angeles
Broadway/Brand			Americana at Brand, Glendale Galleria, Museum of Neon Art, Alex Theatre, Armenian American Museum
Broadway/Glendale			Glendale Civic Center
Broadway/Verdugo
Eagle Rock Plaza		Los Angeles (Eagle Rock)
Colorado/Eagle Rock
Colorado/Townsend
Memorial Park		Pasadena	Old Pasadena
Colorado/Los Robles			USC Pacific Asia Museum, Fuller Theological Seminary, The Paseo
Colorado/Lake			Pasadena Playhouse
Colorado/Hill			Pasadena City College

External links

• Project website