Date: June 10, 2022
Author(s): Erik Felix
Abstract
Over the past 10 years, mixed-use bus lanes in Los Angeles have expanded from 4 miles (Agrawal, 2012) to more than 27 miles of county streets (Halls, 2020). Mixed-use bus lanes, from here on referred to as bus lanes, are lanes designated exclusively for buses that operate on general traffic streets. Understanding if bus lanes make streets safer for all users is imperative, especially in a city where traffic fatalities are rampant. Los Angeles ranked second in the nation for pedestrians killed by motor vehicles in 2015 (Garcetti, 2015). While the mileage of planned and installed bus lanes increases, it is still unclear how they affect street safety. My research report attempts to provide clarity to this unknown by examining the impact that all-day bus lanes and peak-hour bus lanes have on street safety. I focus on four Los Angeles bus lanes – three are peak hour lanes and one is an all-day lane. I also look at two streets that currently have no bus lanes, but that the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) have identified as candidates for new installed bus lanes (Linton, 2021).
About the Project
This capstone project was completed in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Master of Urban & Regional Planning at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs.