Reversible Lane OKd to Ease Sepulveda Blvd. Rush Hour

A $100,000 plan to ease rush-hour traffic through the Sepulveda Pass was approved in concept by the Los Angeles City Council Friday, but the project’s ultimate fate remains cloudy.

On an 11-2 vote, the council agreed to designate funds in the city’s one-half cent Proposition A sales tax account to pay for the project, which would make one lane of Sepulveda Boulevard reversible.

But James McLaughlin, a city Department of Transportation executive, warned lawmakers that the project may not be eligible for Proposition A funding.

The Los Angeles County Transportation Commission dictates how Proposition A funds may be used, and the commission has clearly signaled that reversible lanes are eligible if the lanes serve car pools and buses. “It may take some work to convince them to allow this project,” he said.

Councilman Marvin Braude said the project--also backed by Nicholas Patsaouras, a Southern California Rapid Transit District board member--is a tremendous bargain because it effectively would add another lane to the San Diego Freeway. Funding for the project was approved on a 9-5 vote.

A second Braude-Patsaouras transit project--to designate $1.1 million of Proposition A funds for fixed-route minibuses running from Van Nuys to Studio City--was referred to the council’s transportation committee Friday for further study. Under the proposal, six buses would operate 15 hours a day.

Councilman Nate Holden, transportation panel chairman, promised to have the minibus project back to the full council for a final vote in 30 days.

At a news conference Thursday, Braude and Patsaouras unveiled the two projects and claimed they would be a boon to San Fernando Valley commuters. They also said the Valley has not gotten its fair share of Proposition A funds in the past.

Braude claimed victory for the projects after Friday’s votes.