The Colorado Boulevard Bus Lane Changes at Eagle Rock Boulevard. The Side-Street Questions Are Still Open.

When you head to Colorado Boulevard for coffee or a bakery stop, which side of Eagle Rock Boulevard do you park on? Under Metro's plan, that one intersection divides two different street designs. Construction on the North Hollywood to Pasadena Bus Rapid Transit line is now set to reach Eagle Rock in November. The half of the project that will touch most daily routines is the half Metro hasn't finished describing.

The schedule moved once already

Metro's community presentation in August put Eagle Rock construction at October 2026 through April 2028. Streetsblog LA was still reporting an October start in mid-September. Metro's current construction timeline lists Eagle Rock as November 2026 through April 2028, and the agency says in bold that schedules are subject to change. The same timeline shows Pasadena wrapping up in November, while Glendale and Burbank are already underway. That leaves Eagle Rock and North Hollywood as the last two segments to start.

The full route runs 19 miles between North Hollywood and Pasadena. It is one of several Metro bus projects slated to finish before the 2028 Olympics, according to the Los Angeles Times. The Times reports the project costs nearly half a billion dollars, mostly funded through Measure M.

Two designs, one dividing line

Metro's August slides describe Eagle Rock's segment as three stations on Colorado Boulevard. Bus lanes run along the side of the street west of Eagle Rock Boulevard and in the median to the east. One station rendering in that deck is a median station at Colorado and Mt Royal.

East of the dividing line, the Times describes the bus lane running along what is now the median, with one car lane removed. Metro's slides also list new signalized crosswalks and "improvements to left turns." They add that emergency access across the medians will be coordinated with Fire Station 42.

Parking is tied to the bike lane design

Parking is the issue business owners raise most, and it's where the two published accounts sound furthest apart. Metro's slide says parking is "preserved along Colorado; reduced at station locations." The Times reports that some street parking would be reduced in the area that has the single public parking lot.

Metro's own drawings explain why curb parking stays east of Eagle Rock Boulevard. The protected bike lanes there are captioned "Class IV bike lanes protected by parked vehicles." The parked cars are what protects the bike lane, so the curb lane can't simply become a travel lane. The parking losses Metro has described are concentrated at the stations.

Business owners on the boulevard hear the plan differently. Mark Arnott, whose martial arts studio is in an Art Deco building on Colorado, told the Los Angeles Times he has "great reservations and deep doubts about the effect of the new plan to get rid of all parking and choke traffic down to one lane." Anthony Cafarchia, whose family has run Eagle Rock Italian Bakery and Deli since the 1960s, told the paper, "I don't know how we're going to benefit with this big change."

Location along the corridor matters too. Tom Anderson, owner of Talon Tap and Wine at the edge of Eagle Rock, told the Times he expects minimal street changes near his business. He thinks moving commuter traffic onto transit could help the area over time, though he worries about shops at the center of town. Michael Sweeney, former president of the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council, told the paper that safety was a main reason he supported the project. "Whether you ride the bus or not, safe streets are in everyone's interest," he said. The Eagle Rock Association, TERA, has called itself a longtime supporter of the BRT and ties that support to its Take Back the Boulevard initiative.

The open questions are on the side streets

Most of what Metro has published so far covers Colorado Boulevard itself. The decisions that matter most to a resident on a residential block are less settled.

The Los Angeles Times reports that drivers would no longer be able to turn left from Colorado onto more than 10 streets. The remaining streets would get dedicated left-turn lanes. Metro hasn't published a street-by-street list in its current public materials. Until it does, nobody can say for sure which blocks lose a left turn and which ones pick up the redirected traffic.

A group of neighbors has asked for three things before work starts, according to The Eastsider on September 9:

• Speed humps and "Local Traffic Only" signs on residential streets
• Longer parking meter times on Colorado Boulevard and at the public lot
• A pause on street sweeping south of Colorado to free up parking

The Eastsider found none of these settled yet. LADOT said traffic-calming measures are "currently in development by Metro with LADOT in an advisory role." The department said it would work with the council office on any change to meter limits. The Bureau of Street Services said it has "no plans" to suspend street sweeping. Councilmember Ysabel Jurado's office holds biweekly meetings with Metro and passes updates along to the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council. Jurado supports the project. She told the Times that residents and small-business owners have raised "legitimate concerns" that "deserve concrete answers and solutions."

How the work will move along Colorado

Metro says work will move in phases near future stations, usually taking two to eight weeks at each location. The Eagle Rock scope covers new roadway, curbs and ADA ramps, sidewalks, and bus pads, plus bike lane installation, median work, and traffic signal wiring. Expect temporary lane, sidewalk, crosswalk and turn restrictions on Colorado Boulevard and Broadway.

What Metro's slides say to expect day to day:

1. Hours. Weekdays from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., and weeknights from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. when needed.
2. Access. Driveways, homes and businesses stay open unless Metro gives advance notice.
3. Parking. Temporary restrictions apply in the immediate work areas.
4. Notices. Delivered within a quarter mile of construction and to adjacent businesses, with quarterly community meetings through the end of the project.
5. Updates. Sign up for the email list at metro.net/nohopasbrt.

The email list matters because the quarter-mile notices will be the first place a specific start date for your block shows up. As of mid-October, Metro's active notices page listed Burbank and Pasadena work but nothing yet for Eagle Rock.

The boulevard before the cones

Metro offers a free program called Eat Shop Play for businesses within a quarter mile of the project. It includes marketing webinars, one-on-one coaching, and, case by case, professional photo and video shoots and promotion. If you know a shop owner on Colorado, that link is worth passing along.

There's also still time to walk the boulevard as it is now. Lou, the French on the Rock, a bakery at 1565 Colorado Boulevard, is on Eater LA's new openings list, updated October 13. Eagle Rock Italian Bakery and Deli has been on the boulevard for six decades. Talon Tap and Wine sits at the edge of town, where the Times reports street changes will be minimal. When Metro's notices name a start week for each station area, the blocks around the stations will see the work first.

If you own near Colorado Boulevard and want to know how an 18-month construction window could affect the timing of a sale, Kenya Reeves-Costa and our team are following Metro's schedule block by block, and we're glad to walk you through it. Let's talk about your timeline. Help Me Sell.