File #: 2021-0768   
Type: Motion / Motion Response Status: Passed
File created: 11/22/2021 In control: Board of Directors - Regular Board Meeting
On agenda: 12/2/2021 Final action: 12/2/2021
Title: APPROVE Motion by Directors Barger, Najarian, and Solis that the Board of Directors: A. Reaffirm the importance of the partnership with the California High Speed Rail Authority for the delivery of the Link Union Station project and urge continued dialogue for release of the $423 million in state funding; B. Establish a new agency policy that prioritizes the early delivery of additional, strategic, California High Speed Rail (CHSR) capital projects in Los Angeles County rail corridors that currently serve and/or will one day serve regional and inter-city rail, consistent with the State Rail Plan, if and when new sources of state and federal funding become available, and so long as pursuit of those funding sources would not create competition with established Board transit priorities; C. Amend the Board's state legislative program to include advocacy and support for a new dedicated funding program for the early delivery of strategic CHSR capital projects in Los Angeles County that wou...
Sponsors: Board of Directors - Regular Board Meeting
Indexes: Alignment, Ara Najarian, Arroyo Verdugo subregion, Automatic vehicle location, Bob Hope Airport, Burbank, California High Speed Rail, California High Speed Rail Authority, Capital Project, Capital Project Funds, Fixed Guideway, High Desert Corridor, High speed rail, Hilda Solis, Housing, Kathryn Barger, Lancaster, Link Union Station, Los Angeles Union Station, Metro Rail A Line, Metro Rail B Line, Metro Rail D Line, Metro Rail L Line, Metrolink, Metrolink Antelope Valley Line, Metrolink San Bernardino Line, Motion / Motion Response, North Los Angeles County subregion, North Los Angeles County Transportation Coalition, Palmdale, Paul Krekorian, Plan, Program, Project, Project delivery, Proposition 1a, Safety, San Fernando Valley Service Sector, San Fernando Valley subregion, Santa Clarita
Meeting_Body
REGULAR BOARD MEETING
DECEMBER 2, 2021

Preamble
Motion by:

DIRECTORS BARGER, NAJARIAN, AND SOLIS

Improved Mobility through Strategic High Speed Rail Projects in L.A. County

3.3 million residents and 11.24 million jobs fall within the existing Metrolink Antelope Valley Line (AVL) corridor which serves as the only viable, fixed guideway transit alternative for the 700,000 plus people who reside in North Los Angeles County and the only fixed guideway alternative to one of the most heavily congested corridors in the greater LA region: the I-5 freeway. The vast majority of the corridor is also lined by SB 535 and AB 1550 designated communities.

North Los Angeles County, including the Santa Clarita and Antelope Valleys, continues to project as the area that will witness the county's most significant population growth in the future, as well as employment opportunities. The Antelope Valley, in particular, will continue to provide the most affordable housing development and housing opportunities in the county, and Metro has defined much of the area as an Equity Focus Community.

The existing 76-mile long AVL serves eleven cities and communities but is predominantly single track and suffers from additional constraints which limit the capacity, timeliness, efficiency of passenger rail service, and our ability to improve mobility, since it was built upon existing freight rail infrastructure from the early 1900s with a circuitous alignment, along a lengthy canyon setting that includes fully protected species, and dozens of at-grade rail crossings.

Despite those constraints, and the 2-hour plus trip time from Lancaster to Union Station, the AVL averaged approximately 7,000 daily boardings, pre-pandemic, and had experienced sustained month-over-month growth since 2015. A majority of riders choose to leave their car at home; but the AVL also serves the highest percentage of transit-dependent riders in the Metrolink system and includes a "train-to-plane" conne...

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