Bus-only Lanes on Wilshire Who Wants Exemptions? Sarah Peters UP 206a Final Project

Overview Pacific Ocean Project Context Westside Exemptions Eastside vs. Westside Research Questions Method of Analysis Comparisons Summary Conclusions Data Sources Photo credit: LA MTA website (thesource.net)

Project Context: Wilshire Boulevard Los Angeles County Pacific Ocean Major East-West corridor in LA County Passes through cities of Los Angeles, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica Served by Metro Rapid Bus 720 and Local Bus 20 Wilshire serves approximately equal numbers of bus riders and drivers/passengers in private vehicles City of Los Angeles Beverly Hills Santa Monica

Project Context: Wilshire Boulevard Pacific Ocean In 2008 LA Metro and City of LA began studying peak- period bus-only lanes for Wilshire Lanes proposed from just west of downtown Los Angeles to Santa Monica border No bus-only lanes proposed for Beverly Hills I-10 I-405 I-110 Culver City West Hollywood City of Los Angeles I-5 Santa Monica Beverly Hills Westside Project Area Eastside Project Area

Exemptions for the Westside: Comstock to Selby Summer of 2010: Holmby-Westwood Property Owners Association (HWPOA) gets LA City Council support to preserve parking and curb cuts along Wilshire December 2010: HWPOA wins Metro Board approval to exempt Comstock-Selby segment from bus-only lanes I-405 Westwood Blvd. Beverly Hills Selby Comstock Federally-owned land

Exemptions for the Westside: Brentwood Exemptions November February 2011: Brentwood Homeowners Association lobbies for exemptions February 2011: LA City Council requests that Metro planners study BRT without Westside bus- only lanes I-405 Beverly Hills Federally-owned land Brentwood HOA Holmby-Westwood POA

Eastside vs. Westside Currently under study: Exemptions from bus-only lanes for the entire Westside Project Area I-405 Beverly Hills Brentwood HOA Holmby-Westwood POA Santa Monica City of Los Angeles I-10 I-5 Westside Project Area (exemptions sought) Eastside Project Area (no exemptions sought)

Research Questions 1. Are there demographic differences between residents who organized against bus- only lanes and their neighbors who did not? 2. Are there demographic differences between Westside and Eastside service areas? Photo credit: LA WAD, flickr.com

Data Sources American Community Survey Estimates for Census Blockgroups in LA County (data on income, race and transit commuters) Homeowners association boundary maps from HOA websites Photo credit: LA MTA website (thesource.net)

Method of Analysis: Define Exemption-Seeking Groups Step 1: Select Census blockgroups that overlap homeowners associations Brentwood HOA Holmby-Westwood POA Federally-owned land Selected blockgroups (turquoise) Beverly Hills I-405

Method of Analysis: Define Exemption-Seeking Groups Step 2: Create layer of homeowners associations blockgroups Homeowners Associations Layer

Step 1: Calculate ½ mile service area around 720 Rapid bus stops Method of Analysis: Network Analyst Homeowners Associations Layer I-10 I-405 I-5

Step 2: Select census blockgroups that intersect BRT service areas within City of Los Angeles Method of Analysis: Network Analyst

Step 3: Create layers from selected blockgroups Method of Analysis: Network Analyst HOA blockgroups layer Non-HOA blockgroups layer

Are there demographic differences between residents who organized against bus-only lanes and their neighbors who did not? Comparison: HOA blockgroups vs. Non-HOA Blockgroups HOA blockgroups Non-HOA blockgroups

Income: HOA vs. Non-HOA HOA blockgroups Non-HOA blockgroups Average Per Capita Income HOAs: $101,000 Non-HOAs: $64,000

Racial Composition: HOA vs. Non-HOA HOA blockgroups Non-HOA blockgroups Nonwhite Population HOAs: 14% Non-HOAs: 33%

Public Transit Use: HOAs vs. Non-HOAs HOA blockgroups Non-HOA blockgroups Public Transit Commuters HOAs: 1% Non-HOAs: 4%

Are there demographic differences between the Westside and Eastside service areas? Comparison: Eastside vs. Westside Westside service area Eastside service area Beverly Hills I-10 I-405 I-5

Average Per Capita Income Income: Eastside vs. Westside Westside service area Eastside service area Beverly Hills Eastside: $28,000 Westside: $64,000

Racial Composition: Eastside vs. Westside Westside service area Eastside service area Nonwhite Population Eastside: 78% Westside: 31%

Transit Use: Eastside vs. Westside Westside service area Eastside service area Westside service area Public Transit Commuters Eastside: 20% Westside: 4%

Summary: Income HOAs make about 1/3 per capita more than the rest of the Westside Westside Service Area’s per capita income is 2x that of the Eastside Service Area

Summary: Racial Composition 8/10 people in Eastside Service Area are people of color 9/10 people in HOA blockgroups are white

Summary: Transit Use Transit users are a minority of commuters in all areas Eastside has more than 4x as many transit users as the Westside, and 20x the transit users of the HOA blockgroups

Summary: Populations Eastside Service Area residents outnumber Westside residents (both HOA and non-HOA) by 2-1

Summary HOA population: 13, 402 Everyone else: 148,791

Conclusions Race, income and geography are highly correlated in Wilshire corridor Westside HOA residents exercised disproportionate power in planning process Westside residents overall are less likely to use transit Therefore HOA residents opposed to bus-only lanes may not have faced local opposition Photo credit: LA MTA website (thesource.net)

Data Sources Wilshire BRT project history: Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) website Los Angeles City Council Meeting Agenda for January 28, 2011 Streetsblog Los Angeles Homeowners Association boundaries: Holmby-Westwood POA website Brentwood HOA website Census Blockgroup data: American Community Survey Estimates

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