The Metro Board of Directors meets at 10 a.m. Thursday, April 22, for its regular monthly meeting. As has been the case since Spring of last year, the meeting will be held virtually due to the ongoing pandemic.
In addition to the agenda above, this page also has links to all agenda items and will have a link to the livestream shortly before the meeting begins.
A recording of the meeting will be archived if you want to view or listen at a later date or watch in smaller chunks (not a bad idea, as these meetings can be loooooooong).
All public comment will be at the beginning of the meeting — a change that began in March:
–You may join the call 5 minutes prior to the start of the meeting.
–Dial-in: 888-251-2949 and enter either the:
–English Access Code: 8231160# or
–Spanish Access Code: 4544724#
–To give public comment, enter #2 (pound-two) when the comment period opens. Please note that the live video feed lags about 30 seconds behind the actual meeting. There is no lag on the public comment dial-in line.
-You can email your comment by 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 21, to goinsc@metro.net.
Among some of the more interesting items the Board is set to tackle are:
•Asking the Board to approve the West Santa Ana Branch and the Sepulveda Transit Corridor projects as the next Metro project candidates for federal funding due to their high ridership expectations, the cost of the projects and other key criteria the projects meet.
Some helpful background: the West Santa Ana project will be a light rail line between Artesia and downtown L.A. with transfers to the C Line and A Line. Part of the line would run on an old streetcar corridor named the Santa Ana Branch that ran between L.A. and Santa Ana — and which Metro has owned for many years.
The Sepulveda Transit Corridor will be a high capacity monorail or heavy rail line between Van Nuys and the Westside — and eventually LAX.
Both projects are in the planning phase and have funding from Measure R, Measure M and other sources. As for federal funding, the feds won’t pay for an entire project – but they can certainly help fund a big chunk of a project. Example: Metro’s Purple Line Extension and Regional Connector have together secured about $4.4 billion in fed funds.
The Board is also being asked to authorize the East San Fernando Valley Transit Corridor — a light rail line between Van Nuys and San Fernando — to pursue a federal “Early Project Delivery” grant for projects that could be delivered in innovative ways. That includes a public-private partnership.
Here’s the staff report. Very wonky but important stuff.
An accompanying Board motion also asks Metro staff to pursue potential federal funding for the people mover project in Inglewood that will connect the Crenshaw/LAX Line’s downtown Inglewood Station to SoFi Stadium, the Forum and the city’s planned arena for the Clippers.
•The Board will consider a motion that asks Metro staff to report back with possible permanent funding sources for the Dodger Stadium Express.
The popular bus shuttle between the South Bay, Union Station and Dodger Stadium has been funded mostly with state grants since starting in 2010. That has been challenging at times. The hope is to ensure the shuttle remains a fixture for many years to come.
•The Board will consider setting a budget of $898 million for the Airport Metro Connector project. The transit station will be located at Aviation Boulevard and 96th Street along the Crenshaw/LAX Line corridor.
The station will be the transfer point between Metro Rail, Metro Bus and the LAX Automated People Mover (which is currently under construction) that will connect riders to airport terminals. If this item approved, early work is expected to begin in the next few months with major construction starting in Fall 2021 with a forecasted opening in Summer 2024. The staff report also takes a look at funding and construction impacts to rail service.
•The Board will receive-and-file this update on Metro’s Fareless System Initiative, which proposes a pilot program offering fareless rides to K-12 students (as early as this August) and low-income riders. A Board vote on moving ahead with a test program is scheduled for the Board’s May round of meetings.
•The Board will consider approving a design/build process to build a track intrusion system. The idea is to detect intruders on tracks and other unauthorized areas. This should improve safety and reduce rider delays. Staff report
Categories: Policy & Funding, Projects
Safety and security should be of utmost importance in the planning process.
“All public comment will be at the beginning of the meeting — a change that began in March”.
I made public comment at the meeting to denounce this practice. It doesn’t even conform with the Board rules outlined right there on the agenda. Under this a person gets 60 seconds to comment on ALL agenda items! And before board discussion, any amendmens, etc. How can one speak effectively under such circumstances? This is a travesty and violates the Ralph M. Brown Act. I have asked the ACLU to sue. For shame, Chair Garcetti!
I would say if we have Crenshaw, the Regional Connector and the 3 segments of the Wilshire Line done AND then somehow get
the West Santa Ana Line, Sepulveda Line and the East SFV line all done by the Olympics, that would be amazing and quite a change from when we last had the Olympics. Also don’t forget we will also get 1 or 2 venues for the World Cup 2 years before the Olympics, so that is a good dry run of sorts.
i would seriously call your bookie and put money against the WSA, Sepulveda, and ESFV at this point. Metro hasn’t undertaken a project that hasn’t been significantly delayed – why would they stop now?
The LAX People Mover was approved months ago and work started. The Crenshaw/LAX line is 98% finished. So they only now approved funding for the Airport Metro Connector project – transit station? Weird that this didn’t come up earlier especially since they could have started work while the Crenshaw/LAX line remains in construction.
Good luck with the Santa Ana Branch line, but I moved out of that area a few years ago. I now wish they will extend the Green Line towards Norwalk Courthouse and as far as Brea. It will save a lot of driving in the terrible traffic on Imperial Hwy.
Please save us from the monorail.
Would there be a possibility for the West Santa Ana Branch line to get to Santa Ana by working with the OCTA? Possibly like the Gold line crossing the county line to get to Montclair?
Hi TransitPerson;
I suppose there’s always a possibility but I don’t believe OCTA is pursuing such a project at this time. The question I would pose — given that funding is always an issue — is whether it would be better to invest dollars into linking OC and DLTA via Metrolink improvements and the state’s high-speed rail project?
Steve Hymon
Editor, The Source
I would try to extend it to Cypress College and call it good. At least you can get more riders and serve a population that is reliant on transit.
Stanton would be better, just a one shot bus ride away from Disneyland AND Knotts Berry Farm at that point. You can convince Disney to build a monorail line to Stanton, and we finally have rail to Disneyland via Transfers.
In the past OCTA has been cool to the idea of anything on their portion of the corridor. And now from Santa Ana to Garden Grove is being used for the OC Streetcar project.