The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) is building a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service, which will pass through Colorado Boulevard, where construction has already begun. According to the Metro’s website, the BRT will run from North Hollywood to the cities of Burbank, Glendale, Eagle Rock and end at Pasadena City College.
Michael Nogueira, the owner of Sir Michael’s Party Rentals and president of the Eagle Rock Chamber of Commerce, said he has been keeping a close eye on the project and how it will affect the community.
“The previous neighborhood council was Richard Lowe and Michael Sweeney, who pushed it through,” Nogueira said. “This group, called The Eagle Rock Association (TERA), also pushed it through. And I, as president of the Eagle Rock Chamber of Commerce, opposed it.”
Business owners and other longtime residents voice many concerns about the BRT project, such as David Lanza, a mechanic who works on Colorado Boulevard. The plan for the BRT bus lane was not well thought out, and there will be serious consequences for the local businesses in the area, leaving many business owners fearing for their businesses, according to Lanza.
“They set the plan before even consulting residents and businesses here,” said Lanza. “They say they want to make Colorado Boulevard one lane. I mean, with two lanes, we get traffic.”
According to Michelle Cook-Helseth, the owner of Native Boutique, multiple small woman-owned businesses have been voicing concerns about the impact the BRT might have.
“I’m totally against it,” Cook-Helseth said. “It was really shoved down our throats. They claim to have done all of these talks about it and say that we voted for it. That’s not the truth.”
According to Cook-Helseth, around 40 business owners tried to meet with former LA City Councilmember Kevin de León when he was in office, but their calls were never returned.
“We had to answer this questionnaire, which was bizarre and unrelated to our concerns,” Cook-Helseth said.”We weren’t allowed to ask our own questions; we just had to answer their questions. We all knew it was just going to be a cash grab for investors.”
Some residents are hopeful about the possibility of better public transportation in the area, such as Eric Massey, an Eagle Rock resident who said he has been living in the area since 2022.
“There’s no access to trains or subway lines or anything like that,” Massey said. “So I do feel Eagle Rock, compared to a lot of other neighborhoods, is more isolated. If you don’t have a car, it’s a lot harder to get out of here.”
Earlier this month, Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 79 into law, which allows for a streamlined housing development near public transit stops, meaning investors will now be looking to buy businesses on Colorado Boulevard to use this new law to make a little extra cash, according to Cook-Helseth.
“This is an absolute cash grab,” Cook-Helseth said. “It’s filling the pockets of investors who are going to come in here and build up all of these expensive housing units in our little charming neighborhood. They did the same thing in Portland, Oregon.”
According to Andrea Martirana, the owner of Casa Bianca, a restaurant that has been around since 1955, she is also concerned with how this BRT will affect her business.
“We feel that this will create a lot of parking problems and traffic problems,” Martirana said. “People won’t want to come to Eagle Rock anymore if they can’t park.”
According to Martirana, LA is a vast area, and people mainly drive cars to get around. The BRT project will make driving and parking more difficult, which will lead to a drop in customers for the local businesses.
“The biggest fear, obviously, is that this could put us out of business. Parking here is very scarce, and people can become deterred by that,” Martirana said.
Similar concerns have been voiced by the owner of Games and Cards Superstore, Art Sagamonian. According to Sagamonian, this project goes against everything the community stands for, was poorly planned and small mom-and-pop businesses will be the ones to suffer the most from it.
“I sympathize with the planners about creating bus space and bike space, but they can’t just ignore the drivers,” Sagamonian said. “If they’re taking parking, where are people going to park when they come to visit local stores? They’re not going to get on the bus and come over here. They’re going to drive their cars.”
According to Nogueira, the BRT could create further danger because the left-hand turn lanes will be blocked, which will hurt response times from emergency vehicles such as ambulances and fire trucks.
“It’s going to bring more transients here. It has been proven to bring more crime. The buses are not safe, they haven’t been.” Nogueira said.
According to Cook-Helseth, Eagle Rock is different from other neighborhoods because the people have deep roots in the community, and their businesses have been around for 50-plus years.
“They’re going to destroy this little small-town Los Angeles enclave for money,” Cook-Helseth said. “To line other people’s pockets, not the community, because the community does not want this.”
Contact Edgar Zatarain at zatarain@oxy.edu
