Meeting_Body
PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING COMMITTEE
MAY 18, 2016
Preamble
Motion by:
Directors Garcetti, Bonin, Kuehl, Solis, DuBois and Najarian
May 18, 2016
Item 14, File ID 2016-0108; First-Last Mile
According to MTA data, 76 percent of Metro Rail customers and 88 percent of Metro Bus customers arrive at their station or stop by walking, biking, or rolling. To support these customers, MTA staff prepared an Active Transportation Strategic Plan which contains many First-Last Mile improvements that will connect people to MTA's transit network and maximize the benefits from transit investments being made across Los Angeles County.
First-Last Mile elements include, but are not limited to, ADA-compliant curb ramps, crosswalk upgrades, traffic signals, bus stops, carshare, bikeshare, bike parking, context-sensitive bike infrastructure, and signage/wayfinding. The Federal Transit Administration considers First-Last Mile infrastructure to be essential to providing safe, convenient, and practical access to public transportation.
So far, MTA has taken important preliminary steps to implement First-Last Mile projects, including the award-winning 2014 Complete Streets Policy, the Wayfinding Signage Grant Pilot Program, providing carshare vehicles at Metro Rail stations, and pilot First-Last Mile infrastructure at Arcadia, Duarte, Expo/Bundy, and 17th Street/SMC stations.
However, more can be done to support First-Last Mile facilities across all of Los Angeles County.
MTA's award-winning Complete Streets Policy stated that MTA would approach every project as an opportunity to improve the transportation network for all users. However, in practice, there is a needlessly narrow approach to major transit projects that has resulted in many missed opportunities to deliver First-Last Mile elements.
Outside of major transit projects, it will typically not be MTA's role to deliver First-Last Mile projects that are the purview of local jurisdictions. However, MTA can take step...
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