Tomorrow's Metro Board Agenda doesn't appear to be packed with controversy, but that doesn't mean that there isn't a lot of important decisions to be made. Here's some of the highlights, and we'll have more coverage of the Board meeting live tomorrow on Twitter and here on the website tomorrow:
Consent Agenda (most items approved in a block vote at start of meeting):
- Agenda Item 5 - Planning for stations that aren't funding, it's not just for Crenshaw anymore. A motion by City Councilman Jose Huizar allocates $500,000 for a station design for the Regional Connector's Broadway Station that has entrances on both Broadway and Spring St. Funding for the larger station has not been allocated.
- Agenda Item 7 - Metro finally seems ready to move on the Expo Phase II Bike Path. The agency is ready to accept over $11 million of federal and local dollars to take the lead on the project and is authorizing engineering work to begin.
- Agenda Item 14 - Apparently there's no such thing as too much money to spend on a highway project that is reviled around the country as one of the biggest environmental catastrophes in the country. Metro is authorizing $4 million to a public relations firm and allocating another $125,000 internally to manage the public affairs for the I-710 Big Dig Project.
- Agenda Item 17 - Bike Share!
- Agenda Item 55 - Metro wants to buy 100 clean fuel buses to upgrade its fleet in the 2013 fiscal year.
Non-Consent (there is guaranteed to be some debate):
- Amendment to Agenda Item 10 - Would require Metro to develop the technical travel demand modeling capability to estimate travel demand by bicycle and, if possible, in conjunction with other active transportation travel such as walking in areas around transit stops and areas where new development will occur on Metro property. This could be an important motion because it would give Metro's planners a boost in doing planning for transit users (and all residents) that aren't reliant on their car.
- Agenda Item 40 - Is the Construction Careers Policy we discussed yesterday.
- Agenda Item 70 - Metro would take an official position in favor of Asm. Mike Feuer's legislation to give the same expedited legal review under CEQA lawsuits to transit projects as stadium projects and other mega-projects.
