Though its June 2018 opening date looms on the distant horizon, few details regarding the East San Fernando Valley Transit Corridor (ESFVTC) are set in stone. The project, partially funded through $170 million in Measure R revenue, will improve public transportation along a nine-mile swath between the Orange Line busway and Sylmar. The proposed transit line would serve an area which is home to over 460,000 people--a larger total than either the cities of Atlanta and Miami. Approximately 35% of residents within this region are deemed transit dependent, a fact which is exemplified by the high level of bus ridership along Van Nuys Boulevard.
Metro is currently compiling a draft environmental impact report for the project, which will study six different options for the ESFVTC. These alternatives include: 1) no-build, 2) transportation systems management, 3) curb-running bus rapid transit, 4) median-running bus rapid transit, 5) low-floor light rail transit/tram, and 6) median-running light rail transit. Although the eventual mode of transportation remains undetermined, a series of artistic renderings portray the hypothetical changes which could be wrought through the project.
