This Week in Livable Streets

Metro looking to approve budget increasing freeway funding and decreasing transit funding, 405 Freeway widening, Metrolink board meeting, and more:

• Varies – L.A. County Public Health’s 2 p.m. COVID-19 briefings are one or two days each week. Watch at the County Channel, Channel 94 on most cable systems, or via the County of Los Angeles Facebook page, where broadcast briefings are archived.
• Tuesday 5/24 – The L.A. County Civilian Oversight Commission will be holding a Special Hearing on Deputy Gangs in the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Loyola Marymount University’s Downtown Law Campus. The Special Meeting will highlight the Commission’s Investigation Regarding Deputy Gangs within the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Check out the agenda, register to tune in via Webex, or RSVP to join in person.

• Wednesday 5/25 and Wednesday 6/1 – Metro is looking to keep widening the 405 Freeway. Metro is preparing its “I-405 Comprehensive Multimodal Corridor Plan” in order to seek more money for widening the 405. Learn more about Metro’s plans (and tell Metro to just not) at two upcoming virtual meetings: Wednesday 5/25 at 5:30 p.m. and Wednesday 6/1 at 12 noon. More information on Metro’s I-405 CMCP at The Source.
• Thursday 5/26 – The full Metro board will meet virtually at 10 a.m. to discuss, take public comment, and vote on a full agenda. For details, staff reports, and meeting access information, see the Metro meeting page. This week’s agenda includes:
  • approving the agency’s Fy23 $8.8 billion budget (which proposes increasing freeway expansion by 33.5 percent, while decreasing transit expansion by 8.3 percent). Metro leadership lied about the extent of freeway widening to get the highway expansion budget approved at last week’s Finance Committee meeting. Follow Alliance for Community Transit L.A., Investing in Place, and Streets for All social media for alerts.
  • cancelling the previously approved widening of the 710 Freeway and approving the “No Build” alternative and a Hahn motion officially taking 710 widening off the table instead
  • giving the go-ahead to the first phase of Union Station run-through tracks construction
• Friday 5/27 – The Metrolink board will meet virtually at 9 a.m. to discuss and vote on various items. Details at meeting agenda.

Did we miss anything? Is there something we should list on future calendars? Email joe [at] streetsblog.org