Meeting_Body
REGULAR BOARD MEETING
JANUARY 28, 2021
Preamble
Motion by:
DIRECTORS GARCETTI, SOLIS, MITCHELL, AND BONIN
Metro Street Safety Policy
Street safety is a growing concern for communities across the globe. L.A. County vehicle crashes injured more than 91,000 people and killed 860 people in 2017. Traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for children ages 5-14 and the fourth-leading cause of premature death overall. In low-income communities and communities of color, impacts of vehicle crashes are often more severe because of inadequate infrastructure and higher vehicular speeds resulting from decades of inequitable transportation investments. To address street safety, L.A. County and many cities within the county have adopted street safety policies.
Metro’s Vision 2028 Strategic Plan includes initiative 1.2.E to improve safety on the transit system and reduce roadway collisions and injuries. This initiative will be of increasing importance as the agency recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. Safety and perception of safety will influence mode choice as people return to more daily travel. Street users need to feel safe accessing the Metro system. The risk of increasing Vehicle Miles Traveled during COVID-19 recovery is a pending threat to meeting the aggressive climate goals dictated by SB 375. Metro will benefit from working with state and local efforts to make streets safer.
Metro does not regulate local streets but can support safer streets within L.A. County through:
● Interfacing with the local public right-of-way, especially through Metro Bus Rapid Transit, Active Transportation Corridors, First/Last Mile projects, and Highway projects
● Funding priorities for local projects
● Transportation operations, Transportation Demand Management, and public outreach and engagement
● State and federal advocacy
Subject
SUBJECT: METRO STREET SAFETY POLICY
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RECOMMENDATION
Title
APPROVE Motion by Directors Garcetti, Solis, Mitchell, and Bonin that the Board of Directors direct the CEO, in consultation with the Executive Officer for Equity and Race, to report back on:
A. Developing a Street Safety Policy addressing the points discussed above;
B. Creating a countywide data collection program, working in partnership with SCAG, L.A. County Department of Public Health, RIITS, and any other local, state, or federal partners, to design a program to document and analyze serious injuries and fatalities from transportation; and
C. Assessing internal risk and liability to safety of all Metro-provided public transportation services.