| Wilshire Center DASH provided local transportation choices.
DASH routes and schedules are fixed. Buses run every 30 minutes along the area bounded by Vermont and Western avenues and Third and Ninth streets.
DASH service runs from 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. during the week, and from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. The fare is 25 cents per ride. MTA and senior passes are accepted.
The DASH routes are designed to serve the Metro Rail Red Line stations at Wilshire and Vermont and Wilshire and Western. They have also been planned to accommodate the needs of the neighborhood, particularly those of the elderly and the disabled. Says Phil Aker, supervising transportation planner of LADOT, "DASH routes are designed to connect community activity points.
DASH buses pick up passengers only at designated DASH stops. A timetable for the Wilshire Center DASH buses is available through LADOT. Call 213-808-2273.
MTA Wilshire Blvd. Transit Study
MTA STUDIES MID/CITY WESTSIDE TRANSIT CORRIDOR
Traffic on the Westside is among the most congested of any American city. The Santa Monica and San Diego Freeways are two of the heaviest used freeways in the country and peak rush hour traffic clogs most of the arterial roadways. Congestion will continue to get worse, based on the Southern California Association of Governments' predictions for the year 2020.
To address this problem, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), in cooperation with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), has initiated work on the Mid-City/Westside Transit Corridor Study. The study is one of three studies being conducted in Los Angeles County to consider alternatives to Metro Rail projects suspended in 1998 due to funding shortfalls. On the Westside, the suspended Metro Red Line subway project would have provided two stations west from the current terminus at Wilshire/Western.
The study will look at alternative types of transportation projects that meet the needs of the Mid-City/Westside and that are realistic in today's financial environment. The transit technologies and vehicles being considered include light rail/trolley, busways with dedicated lanes, and potential Metro Rail subway and aerial rail extensions such as monorail. Also evaluated in the study will be very low cost improvements, such as lane restriping and traffic signal synchronization.
Wilshire Blvd. Subway Line Extension to the Sea with a Line down Crenshaw by 2020
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board re-affirmed its plan on October 23, 2009 to apply for federal funding for the Subway to the Sea, which will provide a much-needed link between the Westside and the rest of the Metro system, via a Wilshire Boulevard subway line. If Metro, a County agency, receives federal funding for this project, the subway could be completed in as little as ten years. There is funding for a Crenshaw Line (currently a rail line) starting at Wilshire Blvd. and Crenshaw Blvd. connecting to the Expo Line and beyond, possibly to the airport. The Crenshaw line's budget is $1.7 billion, but LA County Supervisor Ridley-Thomas wants a total of roughly $2.1 billion so that parts of it can be built as a subway. These projects are part of the MTA’s $300 billion long-range transportation projects.
Purple is the Wilshire Line and yellow is the Crenshaw Line
Public comment is encouraged. For comments and/or more information, please call the MTA Mid-City/Westside Transit Corridor Study Hotline at 310-366-6443. Contact: David Mieger, MTA Project Manager 213.922.3040 Andrea Burnside, MTA Deputy Project Manager 213.922.3084
4th Street Bicycle Blvd.
Click here to view the Recent LACBC Campaign for the 4th Street Bicycle Blvd. (Power Point)
Wilshire Center BID approves letter of support for 4th Street Bicycle Blvd.
What: Shared roadway optimized for bicycle traffic and made safer for pedestrians
Where: From Hoover Street in Wilshire Center to Cochran Avenue in Hancock Park
Why: Currently a well-used bicycle route and cyclists have already campaigned for it.
4th street from Hoover to Norton has already been repaved and it is designated in the new city Bike Plan Map as a “Bike-Friendly Street.”
For biking safety tips go to LAC Bicycle Coalition
Check out what New York City is doing to encourage biking and pedestrian use: Video 1 and Video 2
A Bike Sharing System
Another part of the Cool District program is the bike sharing study that was completed by the students at SCI-Arc incorporating public surveys, field surveys, and case studies to evaluate the possibility of implementing bike sharing stations in conjunction with three subway stations, educational institutions and key commercial outlets. Among the goals for implementing such a system is to allow Angelenos to be less dependent on automobiles as their primary mode of transportation, thus reducing vehicular congestion and air pollution levels in the District. This program is part of MTA's “First-Mile, Last-Mile Solutions". We are in discussion with MTA to implement a bike sharing program within the District.
The study’s street research suggests bike sharing within the District would be a desirable transit option for residents, visitors, students and business because many people who live, work and often visit the area welcome a bike sharing program. The class conducted 160 on-site surveys between September 25th and October 15th, 2009. Among the people we interviewed, 68 out of 160 interviewees would like Wilshire Center to adopt a bike sharing program
How about a Green Community and Bike Center?
WCBID is exploring with CRA a concept for a green community center and bike center at the Wilshire Vermont MTA station. It is to be a place where individuals can get information and products to save energy and water, on recycling, composting, bike routes, bus routes and more on how to reduce one’s carbon footprint. We hope to work with DWP, Metropolitan Transportation Authority, LA Bicycle Coalition, DOT, L.A. Environmentablity, Gas Co and a number of energy saving product companies. L.A. is buzzing with news about bicycles. From the newly revised Los Angeles City Bicycle Plan to the October debut of David Byrne’s book, “Bicycle Diaries”, rethinking the role of bikes can be an important part of making WC/K a more livable community. The City of Los Angeles has also released its Draft Bicycle Plan; to see the City wide bicycle plan go to www.labikeplan.org. |
