Plan for 6,000 New Bus Benches Hits Snag
Los Angeles bus riders would get the benefit of at least 6,000 new benches under a controversial plan that was being boosted Wednesday by Los Angeles City Councilman Hal Bernson.
The plan is expected to draw protests because the city would have to allow the private company that is offering the graffiti-resistant seats to sell advertising on them.
The company, Norman Bench Advertising, also would pay the city at least $245,000 a year in fees--an increase from the $80,000 that is collected annually from a program that permits advertising on a bench-by-bench basis.
Advertising on bus benches is prohibited or limited in about 15 communities throughout the city. To accept the benches, the council would have to rewrite neighborhood development plans.
“Unless we do it this way, there will be no new benches,” Bernson said.
The idea for the bench program has been in the works in City Hall for more than a year but has been bogged down in debate over how to get around the requirements of the community development plans.
The first public hearing on Bernson’s proposal is scheduled for Tuesday before the Planning and Land Use Committee.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
