Huntington Library Could Get Weekend Shuttle Service

The Pasadena Transportation Department is recommending that the Transportation Advisory Commission support a project that would create a new shuttle route to Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino.

If approved, the new line, Route H, would help alleviate traffic near the library, according to Pasdadena transit officials.

The Transportation Advisory Commission is scheduled to meet at 4 p.m. Thursday.

“The Huntington is a popular regional destination adjacent to Pasadena in San Marino,” according to a city staff report. “The Huntington has limited parking and no ability to expand parking. During popular event weekends the demand for parking at the Huntington exceeds the supply.”

Route H would operate on weekends between 9 a.m. and 5:45 p.m. from Jan. 8 through June 26.

Pasadena Transit would operate the fare-free six-stop route, with shuttles running every 20 minutes from the Gold Line Sierra Madre Villa Station to the library.

After the project concludes, the results of the traffic alleviation measure will be studied for any adjustments deemed necessary. Officials will also be looking at benefits while weighing any other concerns that may have risen.

As part of the project, Huntington will implement a communications plan that promotes incentives for those who use the shuttle.

The project is being funded by Huntington Library at a maximum cost of $87,943. The cost covers transit operations and no fares will be collected to offset costs. The city would pay for printed schedules and temporary bus stop signs.

The 29-seat shuttles run on natural gas,

In Jan. 2020, the library advised local San Marino residents of the proposed line.

“After considering a variety of options, we are working with the city of Pasadena to engage in a pilot project to help reduce the number of cars driving to The Huntington and promote the use of public transit,” the letter reads. “… A free shuttle will run from Metro’s Sierra Madre Villa Station in East Pasadena to The Huntington approximately three times per hour between 9 a.m. and 5:45 p.m. The route from the Sierra Madre Villa station will run south on Sierra Madre Blvd. between Foothill Boulevard and California Boulevard; west on California Boulevard to Allen Avenue, and then south on Allen to The Huntington.”