pdf for download here

The Metro Board of Directors meets for its regular monthly meeting on Thursday (June 25) at 10 a.m. Due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, the meeting will once again be held online only. Audio of the meeting can be heard by clicking here at 10 a.m. Thursday.

After this meeting, the Board Chair will also change from Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts to L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti beginning July 1.

Among the items the Board is scheduled to consider:

•A staff report to be received-and-filed on Metro’s response to the recent protests for racial justice. Staff report

•A motion calling for Metro to report back to the Board on the agency’s use of force policy for its policing partners (LAPD, Long Beach PD, L.A. Sheriff’s Dept), a review of training and use of force by Metro security guards and recommendations on how to further reform policing at Metro and how resources might possibly be reallocated to homeless services. Motion

•A motion to establish a Transit Public Safety Advisory Committee that should include additional perspectives from the community. Metro is also directed to partner with several other community-based approach to public safety on the Metro system. Motion is below. Motion

•A motion requesting a report on how the Metro Art program is integrating art on buses, trains and stations, experimenting with provocative works that address the times we live in and how artists can be used in the reimagining of transit. Motion

•A motion asking Metro to review the Mutual Aid agreement that allows Metro to provide and receive help from other government agencies. Under the agreement, Metro provided buses to the LAPD to transport people arrested at recent protests. Motion

•A motion asking Metro to review policies and protocols for service shutdowns in the future. Metro took the extremely rare step of shutting down service on the night of May 30 due to protests,  looting and a citywide curfew in L.A. Motion

•A motion calling for Metro to create a race and gender plan to enact should the state Legislature approve Assembly Constitutional Amendment 5, which would repeal 1996’s Prop 209 that banned affirmative action by the state. Motion

•Approve a $21-million contract with Henzel Phelps Herzog JV for early demolition and site preparation work for the Airport Metro Connector project. The project will build a new rail and bus stations where riders can transfer between Metro, other muni bus service and the future LAX Automated People Mover that will serve airport terminals.

The following is a recap of the May Board meeting:

pdf here with links to staff reports

listen to audiostream of meeting

Recap of meeting with votes

•The Board approved delaying adoption of the annual budget for fiscal year 2021 (which begins July 1) until September to help Metro better plan for dealing with coronavirus pandemic costs.

•The Board approved Metro CEO Phil Washington’s call to action to control costs during the ongoing pandemic. The plan groups costs into two buckets — costs that must continue (including ongoing projects) and costs that can be deferred for a few months. Call to Action Plan. Combined with sales tax losses, Metro programs could be facing a loss of up to $1.8 billion due to the pandemic. Federal relief funding will certainly be helpful but does not appear to be enough to offset the total expected losses.

•The Board approved allocations from Metro to other transit agencies in L.A. from the federal CARES act, which supplies $1.060 billion for transit agencies in L.A. County. Staff report

•The Board approved the release of Metro’s Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP). The LRTP

•The Board approved a project definition for a bridge over Centinela Avenue for the Crenshaw/LAX Line. Full funding for the bridge — preliminary estimates show the cost between $185 million and $241 million — still need to be secured. Staff report

•The Board approved $90 million in additional funding to complete the Crenshaw/LAX Line. Staff report. Metro CEO Phil Washington said the project’s contractor is scheduled to turn over the project to Metro and that four to five months of testing will be needed before the line can be opened.

•The Board approved $30 million in funding for contract close-out costs for the Crenshaw/LAX Line. Staff report

•The Board approved the launch of a feasibility study for a high-quality transit line to replace the proposed Eastside Gold Line extension in the 60 freeway corridor. Staff report

•The Board received-and-filed a report on the construction market in the Los Angeles area. Staff report

•The Board approved a motion to reduce the costs of Metro full-cost fare passes by 50 percent after front-door boarding resumes on buses — the date for that is still to be determined. A second motion calls for Metro staff to report back with a plan to lower all fares.

•The Board received this presentation on bus and rail service during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

•The Board approved a motion allowing recipients of Open Streets grants to use funding for:

-Expanding one-day events to longer-term temporary traffic interventions;

-Replacing a large, single-corridor event intended for regional audiences with many smaller, neighborhood-scale interventions catering to local audiences;

-Creating spaces within the public right-of-way to support economic activity such as dining and vending; and

-Providing education, encouragement, and monitoring for safe physical distancing in accordance with the Safer at Home Order in partnership with and supporting community-based leadership