Meeting_Body
PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING COMMITTEE
OCTOBER 15, 2025
Subject
SUBJECT: 2026 REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM
Action
ACTION: APPROVE RECOMMENDATION
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
APPROVE the programming request of up to $218,369,000 in Regional Transportation Improvement Program funds, including a target share for a LA County request of $134,483,000 and additional maximum target share request of $83,886,000 as an interest free advance from LA County’s estimated future STIP shares.
Issue
ISSUE
In August 2025, the California Transportation Commission (CTC) adopted the 2026 State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) Fund Estimate (FE), which provides new formula funding capacity totaling up to $218,369,000 for LA County over the five-year STIP period from Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 through FY 2031. Metro is charged with preparing and managing the Regional Transportation Improvement Program (RTIP) for LA County. The RTIP submittal, due to the CTC by December 15, 2025, requires Board approval.
Background
BACKGROUND
The STIP is a five-year capital improvement program for transportation projects that is updated every two years. The CTC adopted the previous STIP in 2024. The STIP contains two portions:
• The Interregional Transportation Improvement Program (ITIP) accounts for 25% of the total STIP and is developed by Caltrans.
• The RTIP accounts for 75% of the total STIP and is developed by County Transportation Commissions, such as Metro.
The RTIP is the subject of this report's recommendations.
Relationship to the 2024 STIP
The 2024 STIP FE identified a $216,817,000 target share for the LA County RTIP in FY 25 through FY 29. The Metro Board approved the 2024 RTIP in November 2023 and the CTC approved the 2024 RTIP in March 2024. The 2024 RTIP carried over projects from the 2022 RTIP and programmed the total $216,817,000 share to planning, programming, and monitoring (PPM), minor increases for two State Route 710 Mobility Improvement Projects (SR-710 MIPs), and a new project to purchase 100 zero-emission buses (ZEB). In June 2024, $20,000,000 programmed for the construction of the SR-71 Expressway to Freeway Conversion between I-10 and Mission Road lapsed because the project was not ready for construction. The project was deleted from the STIP, and the lapsed funds have been restored to LA County’s 2026 RTIP share. In June 2025, the CTC approved Metro’s request to amend the 2024 RTIP to adjust funding amounts for the existing SR 710 MIPs and add two new SR-710 MIPs.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
Proposed 2026 RTIP
The 2026 STIP FE includes a $134,483,000 target share for LA County, of which $5,724,000 may be programmed for PPM. The STIP FE capacity depends on fuel tax revenue and programmed and unprogrammed commitments statewide. The 2026 STIP FE is significantly less than the 2024 STIP FE due to a combination of declining gasoline tax revenue and greater unprogrammed costs such as program-eligible cost increases.
For the 2026 RTIP, Metro staff proposes to program up to the maximum target share of $218,369,000 for new projects, including up to $83,886,000 as an interest-free advance from LA County’s estimated future STIP shares. CTC approval of STIP funds beyond a county’s target share depends on funds being available from other counties programming below their target shares. While the CTC may choose to approve a lesser amount than Metro proposes in the 2026 RTIP, there is no risk to existing, near-term programmed projects, as all of the proposed funds are for new projects in outer years where funding plans may be revised to account for the outcome of CTC’s 2026 STIP adoption.
To develop the proposed RTIP, Metro staff applied the Evaluative Criteria Framework. The Framework is a tool to match appropriate state and federal fund sources to eligible and ready projects stemming from established Metro priorities, plans, and policies. The Framework’s six parameters aim to direct grant funds to projects that are: Metro’s highest and most critical priorities such as Measure M; responsive to grant program criteria such as expenditure deadlines; and consistent with plans and policies such as the Metro Equity Platform, Metro Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP), and the Southern California Association of Governments’ Regional Transportation Plan.
Metro staff proposes programming funds for acquisition of ZEBs and chargers, four SR-710 MIPs for the City and County of Los Angeles, Eastside Transit Corridor Phase 2A, and PPM. The total amount of the additional maximum target share is requested for Eastside Transit Corridor Phase 2A. The proposed 2026 RTIP is in Attachment A. The project descriptions for all existing and proposed projects in the RTIP are in Attachment B.
The funds proposed for each project are based on current cost estimates and funding strategies that have attempted to fund Metro’s overall capital program, including the projects and programs in the Measure R and Measure M Expenditure Plans. Staff initially developed funding plans for the Eastside Transit Corridor Phase 2 project as well as the Vermont Transit Corridor, Southeast Gateway Line, and other high priority projects with consideration of the timing of project development as well as the grant funding cycles. Additional funding is allocated to these projects when project costs change or there is a project milestone, including the selection of the locally preferred alternative (LPA), approval of the life of project budget, or submittal to grantors for grant funding. This is done to demonstrate there is sufficient funding for the project. The Vermont Transit Corridor and Southeast Gateway Line projects were a better fit for other fund sources other than STIP, and STIP was previously identified for the Eastside Transit Corridor Phase 2 project as part of the Measure M Expenditure Plan, 2020 LRTP development, and selection of LPA. After the CTC adopts the 2026 STIP in March 2026, Metro may amend the RTIP as part of the next STIP cycle or sooner if necessary to reflect updates to cost estimates and funding plans. CTC approval of such an amendment(s) is subject to STIP funding capacity. It is Metro’s intent that STIP funds are delivered timely and result in successful project delivery. Should there be a lapse of STIP funds programmed to a local jurisdiction or other outside agency, Metro will not replace the lapsed STIP funds with new STIP funds. Metro will also not program RTIP funds in excess of the amount approved by the Metro Board.
Determination_Of_Safety_Impact
DETERMINATION OF SAFETY IMPACT
Approval of the 2026 RTIP will have no negative impact to the safety of Metro patrons or employees.
Financial_Impact
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Adoption of the 2026 RTIP would have no negative impact to the agency. The 2026 RTIP fulfills prior and anticipated funding commitments for transportation projects in LA County.
Impact to Budget
The 2026 RTIP includes funding for FY 2027 through FY 2031 and has no impact to the FY 2026 budget.
Equity_Platform
EQUITY PLATFORM
The STIP does not require that individual projects have or will conduct community engagement or meet equity criteria to receive funding. However, the STIP asks Metro to describe how engagement was conducted for the RTIP as a whole. The Metro Board adopted 2020 LRTP, from which Metro staff identified the projects for the 2026 RTIP, and was built on a two-year engagement process. Metro conducted surveys, meetings, and engagement throughout LA County. It was a bottom-up approach, starting with open-ended surveys, from which candidate priorities were developed, and the following four were selected: Better Transit, Less Congestion, Complete Streets, and Access to Opportunity. Projects were selected to fit these priorities. For instance, for Better Transit, the LRTP will fund more than 100 miles of fixed guideway transit over the next 30 years and for Less Congestion, the LRTP will invest in arterial and freeway projects to reduce congestion. The Measure M Expenditure Plan was similarly developed using a bottom-up engagement process, with input from local jurisdictions and subregional agencies, and approved by over 70 percent of voters in 2016. Projects proposed in the RTIP are included in or directly advance specific projects and programs in the 2020 LRTP or Measure M.
The transition to ZEBs systemwide is listed in the 2020 LRTP as an investment supporting the “Better Transit” priority area. Metro’s transition to ZEB technology will eliminate tailpipe emissions and significantly reduce noise that has significant negative environmental effects on people living and working near bus corridors and on people that depend on Metro’s service for their travel needs. The Metro Zero Emission Bus Rollout Plan approved by the Board in March 2021 analyzed disadvantaged communities in Metro’s service area using CalEnviroScreen 3.0, which identifies communities that are disproportionately burdened by multiple sources of pollution. The analysis shows that the majority of Metro bus routes traverse disadvantaged communities. The plan’s Disadvantaged Communities Prioritization Strategy prioritizes the deployment of ZEBs to routes and service blocks that serve larger percentages of disadvantaged communities.
SR-710 MIPs are listed in the 2020 LRTP as investments supporting the “Less Congestion” priority area. The County of Los Angeles’ City Terrace Drive Traffic Corridor Improvement Project (E-W), Arizona Avenue/Monterey Pass Road/Fremont Avenue Traffic Corridor Improvement Project (N-S), and 1st Street TSSP and ITS Improvements (E-W) Project all overlap with Metro Equity Focus Communities (EFCs) in East Los Angeles. The proposed STIP funds will be used to upgrade technology to improve traffic safety and management along corridors directly adjacent to the SR-710 North. The improvements can benefit both riders of Metro and local buses and drivers that travel in those corridors to reach destinations in the area such as Belvedere Community Regional Park; California State University, Los Angeles; East Los Angeles College; and local businesses. The City of Los Angeles’ Eagle Rock Boulevard Multi-Modal Transportation Improvements project does not overlap with a Metro EFC in the Eagle Rock community. Still, 35 percent of households in the project area are low-income and seven percent are zero-vehicle households so there is a need for the active transportation improvements proposed for STIP funding to improve access to destinations in the area such as the Solheim Senior Community, Occidental College, the future North Hollywood to Pasadena Bus Rapid Transit station, and local businesses. The City has been conducting public outreach and stakeholder engagement, including meetings with local schools, businesses, and residents to ensure community priorities are integrated into the final project design.
The Eastside Transit Corridor Phase 2 is included as a major transit investment in the 2020 LRTP supporting the “Better Transit” priority area. The project is also a Measure M Expenditure Plan Major Project. The initial operating segment, Phase 2A, proposed for STIP funding traverses through six EFCs along the eastern portion of Los Angeles County. This project will benefit these EFCs by providing access to a reliable light rail system and filling a gap in high-quality transit services that currently exists.
Vehicle_Miles_Traveled_Outcome
VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED OUTCOME
VMT and VMT per capita in Los Angeles County are lower than national averages, the lowest in the SCAG region, and on the lower end of VMT per capita statewide, with these declining VMT trends due in part to Metro’s significant investment in rail and bus transit.* Metro’s Board-adopted VMT reduction targets align with California’s statewide climate goals, including achieving carbon neutrality by 2045. To ensure continued progress, all Board items are assessed for their potential impact on VMT.
While the agency remains committed to reducing VMT through transit and multimodal investments, some projects may induce or increase personal vehicle travel. However, these individual projects aim to ensure the efficient and safe movement of people and goods.
This Board item will likely increase VMT in LA County, as it includes an investment in 0.6 miles of new lane miles and approximately 8 miles of traffic signal and timing improvements which encourage driving alone. Although this item may not directly contribute to the achievement of the Board-adopted VMT Reduction Targets, the VMT Targets were developed to account for the cumulative effect of a suite of programs and projects within the Metro region, which individually may induce or increase VMT. Additionally, Metro has a voter-approved mandate to deliver multimodal projects that enhance mobility while ensuring the efficient and safe movement of people and goods.
*Based on population estimates from the United States Census and VMT estimates from Caltrans’ Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS) data between 2001-2019.
Implementation_of_Strategic_Plan_Goals
IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS
The recommendation supports Strategic Plan Goal #1 to “provide high-quality mobility options that enable people to spend less time traveling” by obtaining funding to support the delivery of transportation improvements that support the safety and performance of the highway system and expand high-quality transit options.
Alternatives_Considered
ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED
The Board could elect not to approve the staff recommendation for the 2026 RTIP. This option is not recommended as it would force LA County to forfeit up to $134,483,000 in formula funds until the next STIP cycle in two years. Additionally, failure to adopt the 2026 RTIP could cause delay for the projects proposed.
Next_Steps
NEXT STEPS
With Board approval, staff will proceed with finalizing the 2026 RTIP submittal. The major milestones to secure the 2026 LA County RTIP are:
• December 15, 2025 - 2026 RTIP due to CTC
• February 5, 2026 - CTC holds Southern California 2026 STIP Hearing
• February 27, 2026 - CTC publishes staff recommendations
• March 19-20, 2026 - CTC adopts 2026 STIP
Attachments
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - 2026 LA County RTIP
Attachment B - 2026 LA County RTIP Project Descriptions
Prepared_by
Prepared by: Shelly Quan, Senior Manager, Transportation Planning, (213) 547-4303
Patricia Chen, Senior Director, Countywide Planning & Development, (213) 922-3041
Mark Yamarone, Executive Officer, Countywide Planning & Development, (213) 418-3452
Laurie Lombardi, Senior Executive Officer, Countywide Planning & Development, (213) 418-3251
Nicole Ferrara, Deputy Chief Planning Officer, (213) 547-4322
Reviewed_By
Reviewed by: Ray Sosa, Chief Planning Officer, (213) 547-4274
