(pdf here)

Metro staff on Friday released a draft of the Metro Vision 2028 Plan as part of a report to the agency’s Board of Directors.

This is Metro’s big picture plan to improve mobility in Los Angeles County and explains what the public can expect from the agency over the next 10 years. The plan is the result of more than 17 months of research, discussion and outreach by Metro’s Office of Extraordinary Innovation.

As we all know, traffic is one of the critical issues facing L.A. County. Mobility is directly related to our region’s future and its economic and social promise. Better mobility means safe and convenient access to the basic needs in your life, such as more job opportunities, housing, education and health services. The plan seeks to provide great mobility to everyone, whether they drive, take transit, walk or bike.

The plan builds on some key initiatives already underway now at Metro — and includes strategic actions that go well beyond the status quo. Vision 2028 sets Metro’s strategic direction and serves as the foundation for all other Metro plans, programs and services. For example, the in-progress Long Range Transportation Plan and the NextGen Bus Study will take a deeper and more detailed focus on how we will accomplish goals in Vision 2028.

Vision 2028 will be formally released to the public on April 27 followed by a four-week public comment period. The Metro Board of Directors will consider adopting the plan at their meeting on June 28.

Here are some of the highlights that will likely be most interesting to Source readers:

•The plan shifts Metro’s focus from just the system Metro operates to the mobility ecosystem as a whole. We are not just a transit agency – we are a mobility agency.

•The plan emphasizes spending less time traveling. For example, the plan calls for:

• Improving average speeds on the bus network by 30 percent;
• Updating the way we manage our aging transit assets to keep them in a state of good repair, thus reducing trip disruptions on our buses and trains;
• Implementing a larger network of ExpressLanes by 2028, thus providing solo drivers a choice to pay a toll in order to save time while also improving the performance of our bus rapid transit services that run along such corridors;
• Piloting pricing strategies to manage demand in the most traffic-clogged parts of LA County.

•Metro will focus on improving the customer experience and making our system easier and more convenient to use. Putting the customer at the heart of the journey is critical to improving mobility.

The above are just a few highlights. The plan also tackles housing, safety and security, fares, agency finances and creating more jobs across the region. Ultimately, we hope you’ll join us as we build a better transportation future for L.A. County.