Metro CEO Phillip A. Washington joined Inglewood Mayor and Metro Board Chair James T. Butts and incoming Metro Board Chair and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti on Wednesday in delivering the annual State of the Agency report to community leaders and stakeholders.
Video of the event is above.
Mayor Butts reviewed his tenure as Board Chair, which included progress on a variety of construction projects, the reopening of the A (Blue) Line last fall and Metro’s response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Mayor Garcetti, who takes over the Chair on July 1, looked ahead to expanding transit access as part of Metro’s recovery efforts and creating jobs through readying more Metro projects for construction. He also announced upcoming bus lanes on 5th and 6th streets in downtown Los Angeles.
Metro CEO Phillip A. Washington also provided an update on the agency and highlighted Metro’s importance as a lifeline service.
Despite the profound impact COVID-19 has had on public transportation, major accomplishments over the last year were highlighted in the State of the Agency report and include:
•Releasing the draft NextGen plan to restructure Metro’s vast bus network and to greatly increase frequency of service.
•Progress on the Crenshaw/LAX project to include most civil and structural work completed with a shift to systems work now being completed. The project is now 95 percent completed.
•The Regional Connector Transit is now two-thirds complete and is on schedule to open in 2022.
•The three sections of the Purple Line Extension are underway and all are making progress. Section Two was able to adjust to the slowdown in traffic to enable a complete closure of Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills for decking work on the Wilshire/Rodeo Station, completing it seven months ahead of schedule.
•The agency also launched of the Traffic Reduction Study to find a pilot area in L.A. County to test congestion pricing and a package of mobility improvements to improve equity, mobility, and environmental outcomes in the region.
Priorities for the coming year will include implementing the NextGen plan and the agency’s equity framework by smart planning and an increased commitment to environmental and social justice with more targeted public outreach efforts, especially in minority communities and others that have historically been left behind.
Categories: Policy & Funding, Projects
I appreciate Metro’s efforts to keep both riders and drivers safe during the pandemic. But please consider providing more specific guidance about wearing masks. Today on the 212 a rider had a long loud phone conversation with her mask pulled below her chin — which means if she’s infected, she exposed everyone on the bus. Virus droplets are spread into the air by speaking! People need to understand that they’re not really wearing a mask just because they have one around their neck or hanging from one ear. Also, I haven’t been riding much, mostly the 2 and 212 when necessary, but there are always too many people on board to stay 6 feet away from other riders.