Last week was a good one for Valley transportation.

First, the Metro Board of Directors adopted a project I proposed that will add more parking at the North Hollywood Red Line station. The very next day, I introduced a motion with Councilmember Bob Blumenfield to have the city work with Metro on important Orange Line upgrades. These are both important steps toward making public transit more accessible for Valley residents.

At the NoHo Red Line station, the lack of parking is a well-known problem. Right now, there are 951 spaces that are 95 percent full by 7 a.m. each day. That leaves hundreds of potential riders without a place to park, causing them to drive to work in heavy traffic instead. My program will add 200 new parking spaces at the station and will be completed by June 2015.

Read about my parking initiative here: http://bit.ly/1pMBdJb 

You've probably heard about my Metro motion to study short- and long-term upgrades to the Orange Line. As a result, we are now looking at many options that could reshape Valley transit, including converting the Orange Line to light rail. Getting there is a few years away, but there are plenty of improvements we can implement right now that would make the bus ride better and faster.

Since it first opened in 2005, the Orange Line has been an incredible success and a vital connector for 30,000 people a day in the San Fernando Valley. Councilmember Blumenfield and I took action to get city departments to coordinate with Metro on improvements that would bring real benefits to Valley commuters, including having drivers maintain a cruising speed of 35 to 45 mph in order to work within the signal system, removing a few seats on each bus to accommodate bicycles, developing a software program to signal drivers when to speed up or slow down as they approach signals, and extending the amount of time each day that the line runs in four minute service intervals. I encourage you to read our motion here: http://bit.ly/1EaMRYT 

These are exciting times in the Valley. We are making decisions and forming policies that will greatly improve our public transit infrastructure and make getting around so much easier for the Valley's 1.8 million residents.