Meeting_Body
REGULAR BOARD MEETING
APRIL 22, 2021
Preamble
Amending Motion by:
DIRECTORS BUTTS, GARCETTI, MITCHELL, SOLIS, NAJARIAN, AND BARGER
Related to Item 15: Project Priorities for Next New Starts Grants
Los Angeles County will be home to a wide array of 2028 Olympic venues within the City of Los Angeles, the City of Inglewood and the City of Carson, just to name a few. The City of Inglewood alone will be host to four Olympic venues at the Forum, SoFi Stadium complex and the Inglewood Basketball Center. These venues are also scheduled to host some of the largest events in the world including Super Bowl LVI in 2022 and the FIFA World Cup in 2026. The Inglewood Transit Connector (ITC) will also connect transit to the Opening and Closing ceremonies of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games (2028 Games) at SoFi Stadium.
The Inglewood Transit Connector (ITC) Project is an approximately 1.6 mile fully automated, elevated, fixed-guideway transit system with three stations in the City of Inglewood, one of the fastest growing cities in Los Angeles County. The Project will complete a critical first/last-mile gap in the countywide Los Angeles Metro Rail system. The ITC Project will provide a direct transit connection for passengers traveling between the Metro Crenshaw/LAX Line’s Downtown Inglewood station to the City’s new regionally serving housing and employment centers, and sports and entertainment venues including The Forum, SoFi Stadium at Hollywood Park, and the Inglewood Basketball and Entertainment Center.
While Metro prepares its 2028 Mobility Concept Plan of permanent transit and transit-supportive projects and programs that can help serve the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the City of Inglewood continues to advance the ITC project. The City of Inglewood and Metro have a mutual regional interest in completing the ITC Project prior to the 2028 Games and both Parties executed a joint exercise of powers agreement to form the ITC Joint Powers Authority (JPA) in March 2021. The ITC JPA is intended to facilitate effective collaboration with Metro to deliver the Project prior to the 2028 Games, and coordinate the identification and pursuit of funding sources including but not limited to any federal funding opportunities with the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Capital Investments Grant (CIG) Program, and any additional federal funding that may be committed in support of the 2028 Games. Just as past U.S. Olympic Games have secured significant federal funding for transit and capital improvement projects, federal funds will be needed to support the successful Olympic games and timely delivery of the ITC Project by the 2028 Games.
The ITC Project is a model example of the types of transportation investments President Biden’s American Jobs Plan prioritizes. It is an example of sustainable transportation systems that advance racial equity and environmental justice and maximize climate change benefits and workforce development opportunities in underserved communities such as the City of Inglewood. The ITC Project is located in existing low-income and disadvantaged community census tracts which have been historically underserved by transit. The ITC implementation will reduce vehicle miles traveled, and thereby reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improving air quality both locally and throughout the greater south coast air basin. As the City is now seeking federal funds to prepare for the Olympics and accelerate transformative investments in Inglewood, it also support Metro’s efforts to secure and maintain federal transit funding levels for the region once achieved during the Obama Administration.
The City of Inglewood is preparing a grant request to the FTA’s CIG Program by early summer 2021. A coordinated FTA engagement strategy between the City and Metro is key to ensuring the County is best positioned to secure FTA grants and any available federal funding that may be committed in support of the 2028 Games for Metro’s priority projects (particularly the West Santa Ana Branch (WSAB) Transit Corridor Project, Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project, and East San Fernando Valley (ESFV) Transit Corridor Project), and the Inglewood Transit Connector Project, all of which will be part of Metro’s forthcoming 2028 Mobility Concept Plan (Board File 2020-0815).
Subject
SUBJECT: AMENDMENT TO PROJECT PRIORITIES FOR NEXT NEW STARTS GRANTS
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
APPROVE Motion by Directors Butts, Garcetti, Mitchell, Solis, Najarian, and Barger that the Board direct the Chief Executive Officer as follows:
A. Develop and implement a collaborative and coordinated CIG legislative and FTA engagement strategy that supports securing federal grants and any available federal funding that may be committed in support of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games for the Inglewood Transit Connector Project.