BUSWAY OR NO WAY? RESIDENTS, COMMUTERS ON DIFFERENT SIDES OF TRACK.

Byline: Martin Kuz Staff Writer

San Fernando Valley residents opposed to a proposed rapid busway system that would run through their neighborhoods want the project scrapped, but from where bus commuters sit - namely, their bus seats - the protests sound a little selfish.

``If it were me living there, I don't think it would be right for me to make everyone else in the city uncomfortable,'' Charles Anderson said as he rode a Metro bus to work last week, traveling from North Hollywood to Woodland Hills, the route of the proposed east-west busway.

``I think (the busway) would be a benefit to everyone in the city, whether they use the bus or not,'' the 24-year-old Sprint employee said.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority's proposed 14-mile busway would run from the North Hollywood subway station at Lankershim and Chandler boulevards to Warner Center in Woodland Hills. The MTA estimates the system would cut in half the hourlong bus commute from one side of the Valley to the other.

Yet fierce opposition to a roughly 2-mile stretch of the proposed busway could jeopardize the entire $245 million to $285 million project. The MTA board is scheduled to vote on the plan July 26.

Residents who live along Chandler Boulevard and Oxnard Street, the two possible routes for the first leg west from the subway station, have mounted a not-in-our-back-yard attack on the busway proposal. Media coverage of their concerns, including pedestrian safety and increased traffic, have dominated news reports on the planned busway.

Residents of each neighborhood, after trading assertions over which street could better withstand the busway, now maintain that the MTA should junk the project.

That ranks as the worst option of all for the silent majority of bus commuters who rely daily on the Metro system to get them to and from work, school, the hospital or any other destination.

``I'm definitely in favor of (the busway),'' said Hollywood resident Kevin Carter, who takes the bus because his driver's license was recently suspended. The 31-year-old telemarketing manager talked as the Metro 164 route bus he rode on chugged westward along Victory Boulevard toward a connection to North Hills, where he works.

``I understand that people might not want it coming through their neighborhood, but I definitely think it would help people who ride the bus,'' he said.

Retiree Bill Craig, 66, rides the bus almost every day, traveling from North Hollywood, where he lives, to the Sepulveda veterans hospital to receive medical treatment. He supports building the busway, saying a shorter commute to the hospital would be a godsend.

``I think it's a good idea,'' Craig said. ``If you can get from one side of town in half an hour instead of an hour, I'm for it.''

The Metro 164 and 165 lines, two of the MTA's east-west bus routes that run along Victory Boulevard and Vanowen Street, carry a combined 13,878 riders a day. By comparison, MTA officials estimate the busway would attract a daily ridership of 25,000.

While critics dispute the projected figure, MTA officials argue that the proposed system would boost ridership in a variety of ways.

The busway, most of which would run along a former Southern Pacific railroad right-of-way, only would allow bus traffic and include 13 stops, far fewer than standard Metro lines.

That combination would enable the new route's buses to take on and dispatch a greater number of riders than other lines, with the exception of the Metro Rapid routes that run on Ventura and Wilshire-Whittier boulevards.

MTA officials also suggest that the busway would diversify its ridership, which tilts toward blue-collar workers who lack other means of transportation.

They say the new route, with its all but guaranteed half-hour travel time, would encourage more urban professionals and college students to leave their cars at home and hop aboard. Their riding the bus would have the added impact of loosening traffic congestion on the city's roadways.

Moreover, the MTA contends that the busway's 13 stops would enhance access to the North Hollywood arts district, the Sepulveda Basin, Warner Center and other mixed-use and recreation destinations. In the agency's analysis, more leisure-time commuters, no longer deterred by an interminable ride across town, would choose to take the bus than do now.

Kevin Michel, the MTA's busway project manager, also pointed out that the efficiency of the busway - on which buses would travel no faster than 35 mph - would remain immune to Los Angeles' inexorable population growth.

``One of the best aspects of the busway is that whether it's rush hour, or whether it's 2005 or 2010 or 2020, you'll be able to bank on it,'' he said. ``No matter what time of day it is or what the traffic levels are (elsewhere), the busway will be able to stay on schedule'' because it will exclusively carry buses.

Staying on schedule rules the day of bus riders, who know that showing up seconds late for the bus can mean a wait of 20 minutes or more for the next one - as well as a stern look from the boss.

On a recent weekday, a trip from the North Hollywood subway station to the Victory-Canoga Avenue intersection that began at 9:32 a.m. took 56 minutes, including one transfer. The cross-town commute to Warner Center, with most of the ride spent on Victory, lasted four minutes longer than estimated by the MTA's Web site trip planner.

Maria Franco, a 21-year-old cashier at a North Hills restaurant, rides the bus because she doesn't own a car. The busway would offer a dependable alternative to what she sees as the sometimes unreliable standard Metro lines.

``(The busway) would be faster and would get me to work faster,'' said Franco, who needs to leave home an hour and 15 minutes before her shift starts to arrive on time. ``I think a lot of people would benefit.''

Busway opponents, while unyielding in their demand that the MTA deep-six the busway plan, have more recently called on the agency to instead improve its existing service and expand the number of rapid lines.

Bus commuters second those ideas, and add that they harbor no take-that attitude toward busway critics. Indeed, their sympathy for residents living along Chandler and Oxnard appears ample.

``I can understand where they're coming from,'' bus commuter Sylvester Sims said. ``They have legitimate concerns.''

Sims, 38, has taken the bus nearly every weekday since his car was totaled in a collision early in the year. The North Hollywood resident rides to his marketing job in North Hills, and though he respects the arguments of busway critics, he favors the proposal.

``I think anytime you can give people more options with mass transit, that's an enhancement,'' he said. ``It's good for the city.''

Chase Dodd, 24, sitting next to Sims and on his way to check on his girlfriend's car at a North Hills repair shop, agreed.

``I can see why they wouldn't want a bus route on Chandler - those are nice homes,'' he said. ``But at the same time, if you can spend less time on the bus, who doesn't want that?''

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo: (1 -- color) Residents along the MTA's proposed busway along Chandler Boulevard and Metro riders tend to be heading in different directions.

(2 -- color) Frequent bus rider Bill Craig, 66, believes creating a shorter commute with the proposed east-west busway would be a godsend.

John McCoy/Staff Photographer