The Metro Board of Directors have their monthly full Board meeting this Thursday, June 22, at 10 a.m. The full agenda with links to staff reports is here.

A link will also appear on that same page to watch/listen to the livestream shortly before 10 a.m. on Thursday. The public is also welcome to attend in person; the meetings are held in the 3rd floor Board Room at Metro headquarters adjacent to Union Station’s East Portal.

For those who want to give public testimony, here are the instructions:

Live public comment can be given by telephone or in-person.

The Board Meeting begins at 10:00 AM Pacific Time on June 22, 2023; 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 will be taken 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.

Instrucciones para comentarios publicos en vivo: Los comentarios publicos en vivo se pueden dar por telefono o en persona. La Reunion de la Junta comienza a las 10:00 AM, hora del Pacifico, el 22 de Junio de 2023.

Puedes unirte a la llamada 5 minutos antes del comienso de la junta. Marque: 888-251-2949 y ingrese el codigo Codigo de acceso en ingles: 8231160# Codigo de acceso en espanol: 4544724# Los comentarios del público se tomaran cuando se toma cada tema. Para dar un comentario público sobre una tema ingrese # 2 (Tecla de numero y dos) cuando se le solicite. Tenga en cuenta que la transmisión de video en vivo se retrasa unos 30 segundos con respecto a la reunión real. No hay retraso en la línea de acceso telefónico para comentarios públicos.

Here are brief descriptions of a few of the more interesting items the Board will tackle this month:

•The Board will consider approving Option 2 as the operating plan for the C and K Lines to be implemented in 2024. Here’s the staff report and below is a map of how the plan would work:

You can see the three options considered here.

Metro staff are recommending Option 2 for several reasons. Among them:

–Option 2 would provide direct service from all stations on both the C and K Line to the new LAX/Metro Transit Center station when it opens (forecast for late 2024).

–Option 2 keeps costs manageable by not duplicating service.

–Option 2 received the most support among people surveyed by Metro (which included riders and non-riders).

–Option 2 simplifies the system by creating a north-south line (the K Line) and east-west line (C Line), both of which mimic regional travel patterns.

To that last point, Metro is in the planning phase on two extensions that would be part of the K Line. One would extend the line south to Torrance while the other would extend the line north to Hollywood.

•The Board will receive-and-file a Metro staff report on the  feasibility of establishing an in-house Metro Transit Public Safety Department to support Metro’s public safety mission and values statements.

The report finds there could be many benefits of an in-house public safety department — including more staff visibility, improved response times, better cultural alignment, more transparency and reduced cost. At the same time, the report finds there could be challenges: increased risk management, hiring adequate staff in a tough labor market, ongoing training and the time it takes to create a new department.

The report also notes that there is not unanimity among the public and stakeholders whether Metro should do this.

I encourage anyone interested in this topic to read the entire staff report — lots of good info in there.

•The Board will consider a related motion by several Board Members calling for Metro to develop an implementation plan for an in-house public safety department for the Board’s consideration. The motion asks for a progress report on the plan to be given to the Board as part of this coming November’s Board meeting.

The motion also asks that the plan include information on a variety of topics including the performance of different deployment models, best practices for such a department and security improvements that could help improve public safety.

•The Board will receive the monthly public safety report on crime on the Metro system.

•The Board will consider approving the permanent elimination of the $25 violation fee for using the ExpressLanes on the 10 and 110 without a transponder. Instead motorists without a transponder would pay the posted toll plus an $8 processing fee (currently $4) to help cover program costs. To avoid the processing fee, motorists can sign up for an ExpressLanes account and get a transponder. Staff report