New from StreetFilms: Los Angeles: The Great American Transit Experiment

There’s a new StreetFilm out today that looks into L.A. County transit, especially light rail and bus rapid transit (BRT). The video explores some successes, investigates some issues, and asks what is needed to make transit better serve the county’s future. Thanks to TransitCenter and StreetFilms for collaborating to produce the piece.

L.A. is in the midst of what L.A. City Mayor Eric Garcetti terms a “transportation renaissance,” with more than 100 miles of new Metro rail lines now open. With the success of several sales tax measures, Metro has many more transit projects funded and on the way, including heavy rail, light rail, BRT, station improvements, and more. Several new rail lines are under construction, with many more in the planning pipeline. But even while the city expands its rail lines, overall transit ridership has declined while driving has increased.

The StreetFilm features some excellent local experts whom SBLA editors value highly: Monique Lopez, Michael Manville, Alissa Walker, and Juan Matute. The piece also features SBLA Editor Joe Linton and SBLA founder Damien Newton.

The new video combines some issues explored in two earlier StreetFilms shorts: It’s the Cars: Why Light Rail Slows to a Crawl in Downtown L.A. and The Loudest Environment You Can Imagine: Is LA’s Green Line America’s Most Hostile Transit?

Among the questions asked by TransitCenter: what should L.A. do right now to make transit successful? Readers – add your answers in the comments below.