Preview of Metro Board of Directors June 2021 meeting

by Steve Hymon , June 23, 2021

The Metro Board of Directors meets virtually at 10 a.m. on Thursday, June 24. You can watch live here — the webstream will also be saved and available for those who wish to watch/listen at a later date.

The agenda for the meeting is above with links to Metro staff reports and presentations.

For those who would like to offer public testimony at the meeting, here are the instructions:

•Live public comment can only be given by telephone.

•The Board Meeting begins at 10:00 AM Pacific Time on June 24, 2021; you may join the call 5 minutes prior to the start of the meeting. Dial-in: 888-251-2949 and enter English Access Code: 8231160# Spanish Access Code: 4544724#

•Public comment may be taken at the beginning of the meeting or as the Board takes up each item. To give public comment on an item, enter #2 (pound-two) when prompted. 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.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s tenure as Board Chair ends June 30. Supervisor Hilda Solis assumes Chair duties beginning July 1 and continuing through June 30, 2022.

Among the items the Board is scheduled to tackle Thursday:

•The Board will consider approving nominations to Metro’s five regional Service Councils — the citizen advisory bodies to Metro in five geographic areas: Gateway Cities, the San Fernando Valley, the San Gabriel Valley, the South Bay and Westside/Central. Staff report

•The Board will consider approving a $50-million budget for phase one of the J Line (Silver) electric charging infrastructure project. Quick background: Metro is working to convert its entire fleet of buses to zero emission vehicles by 2030, a decade ahead of the state deadline for transit buses. The G Line (Orange) was recently electrified and the J Line is now on deck. Staff report

•The Board will consider revised criteria for funding highway projects with money from Measure R and Measure M, Metro’s two most recent sales tax measures approved. The criteria offer more flexibility to the type of projects that get funded, including walking and biking improvements. Staff report

•The Board will receive an update on Metro’s Fareless System Initiative. The Board last month approved the further development of a fareless pilot project for students and low-income residents. Staff report and presentation

•The Board will consider a motion asking for a report back on potential community benefits that will be part of the LA Aerial Rapid Transit project to Dodger Stadium. Quick background: a private firm proposed the project through Metro’s Unsolicited Proposal process and Metro is serving as the lead agency on environmentally clearing the project. Staff report

•The Board will consider a motion asking Metro staff to develop a plan to ensure the viability and growth of Metro’s Dorothy Peyton Gray Transportation Library and Archive. From the staff report:

Metro’s Dorothy Peyton Gray Transportation Library and Archive is an exceptional institution and one
of the most comprehensive transit operator-owned library resources in the United States. As
Southern California’s only multimodal transportation library, it serves employees, the public,
governments, and research institutions with timely access to information supporting transportation
policy, research, operations, and technology transfer. It is recognized for providing invaluable
research, resources, history, and archives that give context to transportation issues and history in Los
Angeles and Southern California as well as leadership within the transportation research community.

The Library offers a wide variety of resources, including a great Flickr stream loaded with historical images of transportation in Los Angeles County. If you have time on your hands, I highly recommend perusing. A few images from the archives that are particularly fetching: