Metro Director Fernando Dutra
Update to Long Beach City Council
August 15, 2023
DRAFT
•18 miles between the Ports and the SR-60.
•Metro is developing a plan with options for multi-modal mobility and community improvements, including transit, bus lanes, freeway improvements, signal upgrades, bike
paths, pedestrian bridges and more
•Metro 710 Task Force has been meeting for almost 2 yrs. •Next step is to develop the priorities for the draft
Investment Plan.
•Thank you to Councilmembers Saro and Uranga, Port
Commissioner Weissman, and Long Beach Transit for
serving on the 38-member Task Force.
•Also like to acknowledge Long Beach residents Marcos
Lopez, Maria Reyes, and Marlene Sanchez for serving on
the 31-member Community Leadership Committee.
•Metro Board expected to receive the draft Plan in
November 2023 and approve final plan in February 2024.
Long Beach- East Los Angeles Corridor
Mobility Investment Plan
91/605/405 Hot Spots Program
• EB 91 Atlantic to Cherry - Adds an eastbound auxiliary lane between the I-710 on-ramp and the Cherry Ave. off-ramp.
Will enhance safety and reduce traffic congestion.
Construction expected to start in Spring 2024.
• SR-91 Central to Acacia - improvements between Central Ave. and Acacia Court and local road improvements to
create a safer environment for pedestrians and
bicyclists. Design expected to be complete in Fall 2024. • WB 91 Shoemaker to Alondra - Upgrades between
Shoemaker Ave. and the I-605/SR-91 Interchange, and
improving the I-605 Freeway northbound exit to Alondra
Boulevard. Along with traffic benefits, this project will improve driver safety. Design expected to be completed in October 2023.
• I-605 South Street Off-Ramp Improvement Project -
Constructing approximately 1,600 linear feet of retaining wall to widen the I-605 South Street off-ramp by adding an additional turning lane at the off-ramp. The project is currently in the procurement stage, with construction
anticipated in early 2024.
West Santa Ana Transit Project
•New 19.3 mile light rail - Artesia to the A Line Slauson Station. •Connects Artesia, Cerritos, Bellflower, Paramount, Downey, South Gate, Cudahy, Bell, Huntington Park, Vernon,
unincorporated Florence-Firestone and downtown LA.
•Expected groundbreaking for enabling works in 2023/26. •Utility potholing work is 50% complete.
•Ongoing work with Union Pacific Railroad and Ports on MOU. •Starting project renaming and rebranding effort, led by Supervisor Hahn.
•Metro Board expected to certify the final EIR/EIS in Spring 2024.
•Expected Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Record of Decision in Summer 2024, paving the way for federal dollars.
New Multi-Layered Safety Deployment
•On July 10, Metro established a multi-layered deployment with all resources from the public safety ecosystem, including LBPD. •Deployment will have a significant impact across the entire rail system to include end of line stations and mid-point (Focus) stations, decreasing the number of people that are removed from the rail system at the end of the night.
•Created by representatives from all the Metro safety layers/components, as well as deployment consultants, with equity, customer experience and accountability in mind.
Measures of Success
Staff will track the following metrics to assess the
success of the Multi-Layered Deployment:
•Cleanliness of areas at End of Line and Focus Stations •Use of emergency swing gates
•Observations of loitering on the platform
•Observations of illicit activity at the stations
•Reduction of non-destination travelers on the system
•Increase in ridership
•Customer complaints
•Transit Watch App complaints
•Employee feedback
•Surveying of staff, riders, and ecosystem partners
Progress Date: Key Observations
The following are key observations of the new deployment at Long Beach:
• Enhanced Security Posture: Greater presence of Transit Security Officers (TSOs) and Transit Ambassadors (TAs).
• Improved Communication: Enhanced communication channels at the operational level have facilitated quicker responses to incidents and improved coordination between the public safety ecosystem layers.
• Reduction in Passengers without Fare: Fare enforcement efforts of TSOs have resulted in a noteworthy decline of persons riding the trains without fare. • Cleaner Trains: More respectful use of the system.
• End-of-Line Non-Destination Traveler Counts: There have been fluctuations in the End- of-Line counts, but we are aiming to see a steady decrease as the new deployment continues.
Metro in Long Beach Community
•LBUSD schools and LBCC are participating in the Metro GoPass program! •Students at participating K-12 and Community Colleges can enjoy the freedom of going anywhere, anytime for FREE on Metro buses and trains, as well as City of Commerce Transit, Culver CityBus, Foothill Transit, Glendale Beeline, GTrans, LADOT Dash, LA County Shuttles, Long Beach Transit, Montebello Bus, Norwalk Transit, Pasadena Transit, Santa Monica Big Blue Bus and Torrance Transit. •We also have others participating including:
o We the People Charter High School
o Long Beach Conservation Corps
o Intellectual Virtues Academy
o Paramount Unified School District
o Los Angeles Unified School District
o Cerritos College/Compton College/LA Community College District • Thank you for your support!