Council directs transportation study of 101 Freeway corridor congestion

The Los Angeles City Council voted to direct the Department of Transportation to work with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), Caltrans and the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) to study congestion along the U.S. 101 freeway corridor and identify funding and implementation options. Council member Chick made the motion; the council recorded 14 ayes.

Council member Chick framed the motion as a response to what she called a regional “crisis” of congestion. “We have got to find a way to address this crisis and this problem,” Chick said, noting drive times from the West Valley to City Hall that she said can take “an hour and 15 minutes, an hour and 30 minutes” on commuter days compared with about 25 minutes without traffic.

The motion asks city transportation staff to coordinate with regional partners on studies and funding strategies for the corridor, which Chick described as running “from Agoura Hills all the way through to Hollywood.” Council member Bernsen, who said he chairs SCAG’s transit corridors task force, told colleagues that the region is already considering alternatives and that securing funding is the primary constraint. “The big problem is the funding, obviously,” Bernsen said. He referenced earlier SCAG work and said the agency previously “recommended double decking those freeways back then” as a potential long-term solution.

Council member Voronich asked that the motion be amended to return to the City Council Transportation Committee for consideration. “Could we have, as part of the motion, this be amended that the transportation committee hear it back in committee,” Voronich said, and Chick and other members agreed to committee review. Other speakers on the dais discussed possible alignments and the potential to tie the 101 corridor work into connections to Burbank Airport, the North Hollywood metro station and Ventura County; Bernsen also noted MetroLink-style commuter rail as a possibility.

Speakers emphasized the need to identify and encumber available state transportation funds quickly; Chick said the governor had signaled state dollars that must be encumbered by July 1 or could be lost. Council members and staff discussed a mix of analyses and public outreach, including the possibility of Valley-area hearings to solicit resident input on mode choices.

Next steps: the motion directs DOT to coordinate with regional partners, identify funding options and return to the Transportation Committee and council with recommendations. The council did not adopt a specific project or funding package at the meeting.