UPDATE: Below is an embed of the recap of the meeting (pdf here) with several items pushed to next month’s agenda.

A pdf of the agenda is here for printing and downloading, etc.

I know. It seems like the last meeting just ended. And here we are again 🙂

The agenda for Thursday’s meeting is above. Also, there’s a lovely new page on metro.net for Board agendas: https://boardagendas.metro.net/. It’s still a bit of a work in progress, but definitely an aesthetic improvement over the dreaded legistar page.

One thing: links to the webcast of the meetings still must be added. If you want a live feed of Thursday’s meeting, go to this page and a link will appear in the far right column once the meeting begins at 9 a.m. (or shortly thereafter).

Among the items scheduled to be tackled by the Board this month:

•The Board will consider starting the environmental review for a new bike path on the west side of the L.A. River between Imperial Highway and PCH in Long Beach along with lighting, safety and other upgrades to existing L.A. River bike path on the east side of the river in that area. Staff report.

Some background: These improvements came up as part of the discussions of the 710 South Corridor project, which seeks to add a freight corridor for trucks on the 710 between the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and the 60 freeway. The bike path projects won’t be part of the 710 project, but the Board is pushing ahead with getting them studied — a good thing for mobility, IMHO.

As for the bike path, some more background. In its current state, the path runs on the west side of the river north of Imperial Highway. South of Imperial, however, it’s on the east side — and getting from one side to the other on Imperial can be daunting and difficult. If this is built, having a path on the west side of the river will make it much easier for those biking/walking/skating long stretches of the river. It’s also worth mentioning that the bike path from the San Fernando Valley to Elysian Valley is on the west side and there’s an additional project to close the eight-mile gap between Elysian Valley and Maywood.

I know. A lot to digest, but it’s important!

A Google Maps view of the bridge that carries Imperial Highway over the L.A. River. Credit: Google Maps.

•The Board will consider authorizing Metro to approve an Exclusive Negotiations and Planning Agreement (ENA) with Trammell Crow Company and Greenland USA for the project to add residential and commercial buildings at the Red Line and Orange Line station in NoHo. Please see this blog post for more info. Below is the latest rendering, which we posted earlier this month:

•On the Artesia-to-Union Station light rail project (called the West Santa Ana Branch Corridor), the Board will consider moving four potential routes in downtown L.A. forward into the project’s upcoming draft environmental study. Here’s an overview of the four routes with more info at this recent post.

•The Board will consider formally committing $900 million in accelerated Measure R funds to the Purple Line Extension section 3 project, which will extend the subway from Century City to the Westwood/VA Hospital with an additional station at Wilshire and Westwood boulevards. Metro is vying to complete the project by 2024 instead of the original 2035-36 timeline.

Metro is seeking $1.3 billion from a federal New Starts grant and this commitment is being done to show the feds that the local part of the money for the project is ready to go. Staff report.

There is one potential glitch going forward: in a budget outline for the upcoming fiscal year released earlier this year, President Trump proposed eliminating funding for future New Starts projects. Here’s Metro’s statement about that. Hint: Metro respectfully disagrees.

•The Board will consider approving the preliminary design for Segment A of the Rail-to-Rail project and adopting alternative B4 as the route — along Randolph Street — for Segment B between the Blue Line and the Los Angeles River.

A pdf of the above report is here.

•The Board will consider a $1.24-million contract with Clean Energy Renewables for a pilot program to supply biomethane gas as a fuel for Metro buses — and who doesn’t like the sound of a cow-powered bus! 🙂

Biomethane comes from places such as landfills, dairy facilities (more specifically, from cows) and wastewater treatment plants. Because biomethane does not have to be extracted from the ground, it has a lower ‘carbon intensity’ than traditional natural gas and, thus, means lower greenhouse gas emissions. Staff report

Are buses powered by cow burps in Metro’s future? We certainly hope so! Photo courtesy Steve Hymon.