Potential Rapid Bus Line Could Run from Downtown L.A. to Altadena Border

As part of environmental planning process for a proposed tunnel extension of the 710 Freeway, the Metropolitan Transportation Agency is looking at possible public transportation alternatives, including a rapid bus line that would go between Downtown Los Angeles and JPL, passing along Woodbury Road.

The line, if introduced, would travel faster than a standard bus line; rapid lines, which have fewer stops, run up to 25 percent faster than standard lines, according to MTA spokeswoman Helen Ortiz-Gilstrap.

It's end point would be JPL, giving access to two big job centers, JPL and Downtown Los Angeles on either side of the route.  Where or whether it would stop on Woodbury Road is unknown at this point, Ortiz-Gilstrap said; as a rapid line it would have fewer stops than a standard bus route, she said.

Like all of the alternatives outlined in the documents, the bus line is just one possible concept, and may never be built.

Looking at those alternatives is part of a three-year environmental process that is required by the state for the 710 tunnel to eventually be built.  That tunnel project, which could cost billions by some estimates, would connect the current terminus of the 710 Freeway in Alhambra to the 210 Freeway.  It has attracted strong opposition over concerns about increased traffic on the 210 and pollution in local cities from tunnel vents.

Vincent Gonzalez, the Metro official in charge of public outreach for the 710 corridor project, said other options like the rapid bus line could be introduced in addition to the tunnel, or instead of it.

Metro recently held a series of workshops in local cities to get input on all the 710 alternatives, which include an assortment of new bus and rail routes.

The next step in the environmental planning process is to narrow down which routes to include in the report - Metro will be presenting the new list of options some time this fall, Gonzalez said, allowing for more public input on the project.

A map of the bus route can be viewed at right as can information about other alternatives to the 710 Freeway.