Meeting_Body
PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING COMMITTEE
SEPTEMBER 18, 2019
Subject
SUBJECT: LA RIVER PATH
Action
ACTION: APPROVE RECOMMENDATIONS
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
CONSIDER:
A. RECEIVING AND FILING the Conceptual Design Report; and
B. AUTHORIZING the CEO to initiate the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR).
Issue
ISSUE
The LA River Path is a Measure M project with a projected opening date during the FY 2025-27 period. Currently, $365 million in Measure M funds are allocated for this project. This project is also included in the Twenty-Eight by ’28 Initiative adopted by the Board in January 2018.
To meet the Measure M schedule, a Proposed Project needs to be identified and environmentally cleared. Initiating the environmental review will also support the application for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) required permits. This report includes the findings from the Conceptual Design Phase and a recommendation for what alternatives to advance into environmental review.
Background
BACKGROUND
The LA River Path is an approximately eight-mile active transportation path (e.g., walking and bicycling) along the Los Angeles River. The study area (Attachment A) extends between Elysian Valley and Maywood through downtown Los Angeles and the City of Vernon. The northern limit of the project area is the terminus of the Los Angeles River Greenway Trail at Riverside Drive and the southern limit is at Atlantic Boulevard where the Los Angeles River Bicycle Path begins in the City of Maywood. The project will close the longest remaining gap in the LA River Path to create a continuous 32-mile path for people walking, rolling and bicycling between the San Fernando Valley and Long Beach.
Many of the neighborhoods in the area surrounding the project corridor are predominately industrial with high volumes of truck traffic, deteriorated roadways, a lack of sidewalks and street lighting, and at-grade rail crossings. Additionally, there are freight and passenger train tracks adjacent to the River along several segments of the corridor. Approximately 1 million people live within three miles of the LA River Path project corridor. Of the 85,000 people who live within ½-mile of the project corridor, 18,000 (21%) working-age people walk, bicycle, or take public transit to work.
In June 2014, the Board passed a motion (Attachment B) which directed staff to study a path, including in-channel options, for this missing segment. In 2016, Metro staff completed a feasibility study for closing this gap, which considered top of bank, channel bottom and other path treatments and found that the project was feasible. This feasibility study was approved by the Metro Board of Directors in September 2016 (Legistar File 2016-0311). In May 2018, the Board authorized the CEO to award and execute Contract #AE4779500 with CH2M Hill, Inc. for technical services to support the LA River Path (Legistar File 2018-0108).
Discussion
DISCUSSION
Since May 2018, work has been underway to document the corridor’s existing conditions, conduct community outreach, and to identify and screen potential alternatives. A Project Steering Committee comprised of a representative from Metro, the Cities of Los Angeles and Vernon, and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works provides overall guidance to this project. The Steering Committee and overall project is supported by two advisory groups: a Project Development Team (PDT) and stakeholder roundtables. The PDT is comprised of Metro, USACE, City of Los Angeles, City of Vernon, Los Angeles County, and the Mountains Recreation & Conservation Authority and provides interagency coordination, technical guidance and problem-solving for the project. The stakeholder roundtables are comprised of local community-based organizations, employers and other local stakeholders who advise the project on community needs and priorities and provide overall project guidance.
The project is driven by six goals that were shaped by community input. These goals are safety, access, efficient and sustainable mobility, equity, user experience and health. The project goals are the basis of the evaluation criteria used to screen and refine potential alternatives during an early alternatives analysis. Metro relied heavily on community input on preferred access points and path types to develop potential alternatives, which were screened using these criteria. The Conceptual Design phase was completed in August 2019, leading to the development of a Conceptual Design Report (Attachment C - Executive Summary) which documents existing conditions, design guidance, community feedback and the results of the early alternatives analysis, which identified three alternatives recommended for further study during environmental review.
Community and Stakeholder Outreach
In addition to the stakeholder engagement through the project advisory committees, Metro staff also conducted an extensive community outreach effort, completing nine community outreach meetings, two online surveys and two informational videos. Additionally, staff attended numerous briefings and attended dozens of pop-up events. Through these efforts, staff obtained 4,600 in-person comments and 3,800 survey responses.
This input included feedback on the LA River Path’s goals, potential access points, and preferred path types. Stakeholders and community members indicated a strong desire for a path that was available for recreation as well as commuting and errands. Comments were categorized around project goals with the most cited themes being user experience, safety and access.
Access Points
Community input indicated a desire for access points on both banks and prioritized access points that connect neighborhoods to the east and west of the river. Preferred access points included Los Angeles State Historic Park/Main Street, Union Station, 1st Street and Washington Boulevard. These preferences were used to develop and refine alternatives.
Path Types
Because of the constrained nature of the corridor, there are limited places where the path can be located. Four primary path types were analyzed to inform the development of alternatives and Metro collected nearly 3,000 comments on preferences through community meetings and an online survey.
A top-of-bank/cantilevered path utilizes existing at-grade space and/or cantilevers over the channel at grade. This path type was the most popular with community members (40% of responses) as it would be reliably open and less subject to closures due to flooding. This path could accommodate amenities and features such as lighting, security features, landscaping and public art. Top-of-bank options are only feasible in select locations where the existing rail lines and utilities are set back to provide sufficient space for the path.
An elevated path would be above-grade supported by piers and could be utilized for ramping and crossing over roadways and other at-grade obstacles. This was the second most popular path type (32% of responses) as it would also be reliably open and could accommodate lighting, security features and public art.
An incised path cuts the path into the channel embankment and is commonly used when there is insufficient space at-grade for either a top-of-bank or elevated option. It is also utilized to go under bridges and other obstacles. This path type would be subject to closures during heavy rainfall but could utilize existing bridges that it passes under to provide lighting and other amenities. This path type was preferred by 17% of respondents.
The fourth path type evaluated is bottom-of-channel, which would locate the path on the flat bottom of the channel. This path type would not be impacted by adjacent top-of-bank conditions and would place users close to the water in the channel. This option was preferred by 11% of respondents due to its proximity to the water. This path type would be the most at-risk of seasonal flooding, would require the longest access ramps to get on and off the path, and would not be able to provide amenities and features such as lighting, landscaping, and security features as the path would be under water during rain events.
Best Performing Alternatives
Three alternatives were identified as the best performing options to advance into environmental review. All three alternatives move back and forth across the river to utilize existing space, navigate around obstacles, and provide places to get on and off the path at desired access points. Additionally, each of these utilizes a combination of top-of-bank/cantilevered, elevated and incised path types. A bottom-of-channel option, which would not be reliably open during rain and could not accommodate many of the desired amenities, was not advanced as a primary alternative. However, Metro identified future opportunities to add a secondary path (e.g., “interpretive” nature path) near the water at the bottom of the channel as well as additional access points if additional funding were to become available.
Alternative A (Attachment D) crosses the river six times and adds 10 new access points. Alternative B (Attachment E) crosses the river seven times and adds 12 new access points. Alternative C (Attachment F) crosses the river seven times and adds 11 new access points. These alternatives contain many common access points and path types but identify some opportunities that are unique to each one that can be further evaluated to inform the project.
Environmental Review
Initiating the DEIR will allow Metro to continue to study, analyze, and seek community input on these alternatives pursuant to CEQA. This project does not anticipate using federal funds. Environmental review pursuant to NEPA will be limited to applying for required permits from USACE. Staff proposes to initiate the CEQA analysis first in order to identify a Proposed Project, thoroughly analyze and document potential impacts, and advance the design of the alternatives in order to streamline the NEPA analysis for USACE.
Equity Platform
The LA River Path Project will close the largest remaining gap to create a seamless 32-mile grade-separated corridor for walking, biking and rolling along the Los Angeles River and provide improved access to opportunities including jobs, education, and public recreational spaces. This Project is consistent with the Metro Equity Platform and will benefit existing communities, including many equity focus communities (EFC). One million people live within biking distance of the project corridor and 85,000 live within walking distance. Approximately 72% of the population located within ½ mile of the project corridor live in an EFC. Of those within biking distance, 79% of the residents are Hispanic and 29% of the residents are classified as living in poverty (2016, American Community Survey).
The LA River Path project’s three alternatives connect to local communities along the river corridor. EFCs exist along both sides of the project corridor. All three alternatives provide access to key destinations supported by the community such as Los Angeles State Historic Park/Main Street Access, Albion Park/Main Street Access, Mission Road/Cesar Chavez Avenue Access, Union Station Access, Washington Boulevard Access, Bandini-Soto Triangle Access, and Downey Road East Access.
Specifically, this Project will focus on the Equity Pillars of Listen and Learn and Focus and Deliver. During the environmental analysis, Metro will continue to engage the community in order to plan, design and implement a project that improves access to opportunities and reflects the needs of the local communities. During the conceptual design phase, robust community engagement included nine public meetings, numerous stakeholder presentations, community pop-up events, youth-focused activities, surveys and online engagement.
Determination_Of_Safety_Impact
DETERMINATION OF SAFETY IMPACT
These actions will not have any impact on the safety of Metro customers and/or employees because this project is in the planning process phase and no capital or operational impacts result from this Board action.
Financial_Impact
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The FY20 budget includes $7.021M for Professional Services in Cost Center 4310 (Mobility Corridors Team 1), Project 474303 (LA River Path). Since this is a multi-year program, the Cost Center manager and Chief Planning Officer will be responsible for budgeting in future years.
Impact to Budget
The funding sources for the project are Measure M 2% Active Transportation Projects and Measure M 17% Highway Construction. As these funds are earmarked for the LA River Path project, they are not eligible for Metro bus and rail capital and operating expenditures.
Implementation_of_Strategic_Plan_Goals
IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS
The project will support the goals of the strategic plan by adding a new high-quality mobility option along the LA River that provides outstanding trip experiences and enhances communities and lives through mobility and access to opportunity.
Alternatives_Considered
ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED
The Metro Board could decide not to take action. This alternative is not recommended, as this would impact commencing the project’s environmental clearance process and risk delay of construction, potentially hindering the project’s ability to be completed by the Twenty-Eight by ’28 Initiative.
Next_Steps
NEXT STEPS
Upon Board approval, Metro Staff will initiate the Draft Environmental Impact Report and community engagement.
Attachments
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - Study Area
Attachment B - June 2014 Metro Board Motion
Attachment C - Executive Summary - Conceptual Design Report
Attachment D - Alternative A
Attachment E - Alternative B
Attachment F - Alternative C
Prepared_by
Prepared by: Maressa Sah, Principal Transportation Planner, Countywide Planning & Development, (213) 922-2462
Lauren Cencic, Senior Director, Countywide Planning & Development, (213) 922-7417
Manjeet Ranu, Senior Executive Officer, Countywide Planning & Development, (213) 418-3157
Reviewed_By
Reviewed by: James de la Loza, Chief Planning Officer, (213) 922-2920
