Take a few minutes to fill out Metro's 2022 budget survey, available in Spanish and English. The deadline for survey submissions is January 24 - next Monday.
Every year, the Metro board approves the agency's $6+ billion annual budget. Streetsblog has described the budget approval as "a high-stakes up/down vote. Always up, though." There's a lot of power in what the agency chooses to prioritize funding for. The budget sets Metro bus/rail service levels for the year ahead. It even has a few (important) crumbs for bicycling, walking, and open streets festivals - including CicLAvia.
Typically, a lot of the budgeting is done internally, with minimal input from the public, until the week the proposed budget appears on board meeting agendas for approval.
Right now, you can have some input into the Metro budget via the online survey.
The survey has some flaws. Respondents are asked some Solomon's judgement-type questions such as: would you rather have "Buses" or "Improving the Environment"?
Metro also forces all respondents to act as if you actually support Metro highway widening - er... "Modernizing Highways." No such positive terminology appears before other modes: no "modernizing buses," modernizing trains," or "modernizing walking/bicycling." Metro even uses the word "amenities" (something unneeded) to describe bike facilities.
Note that the survey's highways question doesn't even include "widening highways," even though that is where most of the Metro Highway Program budget goes to - including to multiple projects that have demolished and would demolish housing. Maybe that's just assumed?
Metro doesn't let respondents just leave the Modernizing Highways categories empty (or use negative numbers.) Streetsblog tried and received an error.
But, flawed and biased as it is, the survey is one way to give some input expressing your support for specific Metro budget priorities - from bus service to affordable housing to unarmed public safety teams - and more.
Again, take the Metro survey in Spanish or English by Monday January 24.
Bike Month continues, Metro 91 Freeway widening, Destination Crenshaw, Culver City Bus, Santa Monica MANGo, Metro bike lockers, Metro Sepulveda Transit, and more
Short newly protected bike lane on Laurel Canyon Blvd, extensive NSFV bus improvements under construction this month, and scaled-back G Line plans should get that project under construction this summer