Meeting_Body
REGULAR BOARD MEETING
SEPTEMBER 22, 2022
Subject
SUBJECT: I-710 SOUTH CORRIDOR TASK FORCE
Action
ACTION: APPROVE RECOMMENDATIONS
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
APPROVE the I-710 South Corridor Project’s recommendations found in Attachment A for:
A. Vision Statement,
B. Guiding Principles and Goals,
C. Pre-Investment Plan Opportunity, and
D. New Project Name: The Long Beach-East LA Corridor Mobility Investment Plan
Issue
ISSUE
Staff met with community stakeholders and conferred with the 710 Task Force and its various working groups to develop recommendations for Board consideration for (1) the Vision Statement, Guiding Principles, and Goals that will shape the development of the I-710 South Corridor Investment Plan, (2) the Pre-Investment Plan Opportunity, and (3) the new name for the I-710 South Corridor Project.
Background
BACKGROUND
Metro and Caltrans established the 710 Task Force in September 2021 to re-engage the local impacted communities adjacent to Interstate 710 (I-710) as well as the stakeholders that depend upon, and are impacted by, the movement of people and goods within the I-710 South Corridor between the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and State Route 60 (Attachment B - 710 Task Force Study Area). This action followed in the wake of the Board acting in May 2021 to suspend any further work to advance the stalled environmental document for the prior I-710 South Corridor Project due to concerns raised regarding displacement, air quality, and other impacts to communities adjacent to the freeway.
At the May 26, 2022, Metro Board meeting (File #2022-0100) the Board closed out the original I-710 South Corridor Project by substituting the original Locally Preferred Alternative 5C with a No Build Alternative (Alternative 1). The Board also approved Motion 9 by Directors Hahn, Solis, Mitchell, and Dutra (Attachment C) that set forth directives to guide the work of the Task Force and the development of the I-710 South Corridor Investment Plan. These directives to staff included returning to the Board with recommendations for the following Task Force-related items:
• The Vision Statement, Guiding Principles, and Goals: These recommendations will serve as the foundation and parameters for the multimodal strategies, projects, and programs that will compose the I-710 South Corridor Investment Plan. These items also align with and help advance the Board’s Multimodal Highway Investment Objectives policy adopted in June 2022 (File #2022-0302).
• The Pre-Investment Plan Opportunity: This recommendation comprises a minimum of three corridor initiatives seeking discretionary state and federal grant funding in the calendar year 2022 and early 2023.
• Re-branding the Project: This recommendation will rename the I-710 South Corridor Project in accordance with the new multimodal, community-focused approach to creating a transportation investment plan for the I-710 South Corridor.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
To fulfill the directives set forth in Motion 9, the 710 Task Force considered, debated, and adopted recommendations over the last few months for the Vision Statement, Guiding Principles, Goals, Pre-Investment Plan Opportunity, and the Re-branding of the Corridor Project. Staff presents these recommendation for Board consideration to adopt.
Vision Statement, Guiding Principles, and Goals:
These interconnected foundational values will work together to shape the parameters within which the Task Force will develop its ultimate recommendations to drive investment and benefits into the I-710 South Corridor communities and transportation system.
Throughout this process, the Task Force considered input from the Community Leadership Committee (CLC) and various working groups for each of these recommendations. In recognition of Metro’s commitment to the CLC to bring its members’ input to the Board (Attachment D), which contains CLC input into the Vision Statement, Guiding Principles, Goals, Pre-Investment Plan Opportunity, and Re-branding of the Project.
Vision Statement:
The development of the Vision Statement underwent an iterative process, with staff seeking input from the Task Force, the CLC (Attachment D), the Equity Working Group, and the public over the course of several months, starting in March 2022. At its July 11, 2022, meeting, the Task Force ultimately approved the following recommendation to the CEO for its Vision Statement:
An equitable, shared I-710 South Corridor transportation system that provides safe, quality multimodal options for moving people and goods that will foster clean air (zero emissions), healthy and sustainable communities, and economic empowerment for all residents, communities, and users in the corridor.
This recommendation builds on the language crafted by the CLC to ensure that the direction for developing the Task Force Investment Plan would focus on delivering benefits related to clean air, public health, sustainability, and economic opportunity for corridor residents. The CLC and community advocates included the phrase “zero emissions” in parentheses to signify their desire to pursue the implementation of this kind of technology, echoing the Board’s action in October 2021 (File #2021-0708) to fund a $200 million-plus Zero-Emission Truck Program with $50 million in seed funding.
Guiding Principles:
The Task Force also elevated and transformed what started as potential goals for Equity and Sustainability into Guiding Principles, intending to have these two values inform processes and initiatives at every project stage. Staff believes these Guiding Principles will help the Task Force focus discussions and identify priorities, tie independent components of project work into a cohesive and intentional framework, and reduce redundancies within objectives and strategies.
The Task Force ultimately voted to recommend the following Guiding Principles of Equity and Sustainability:
Guiding Principle of Equity:
A commitment to: (1) strive to rectify past harms; (2) provide fair and just access to opportunities; and (3) eliminate disparities in project processes, outcomes, and community results.
The plan seeks to elevate and engrain the Principle of Equity across all goals, objectives, strategies, and actions through a framework of Procedural, Distributive, Structural, and Restorative Equity, and by prioritizing an accessible and representative participation process for communities most impacted by the I-710 South Freeway.
Guiding Principle of Sustainability:
Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
A commitment to sustainability to satisfy and improve basic social, health, and economic needs/conditions, both present and future, and the responsible use and stewardship of the environment, all while maintaining or improving the well-being of the environment on which life depends.
These recommendations were discussed and informed by input received from the CLC, the Equity Working Group, and the Task Force.
Goals:
The following Goals represent a general expression of the Task Force values and direction to guide future phases of the Task Force Work Plan that will oversee the development of the Investment Plan. The Goals are interlaced with the Guiding Principles of Equity and Sustainability. The Task Force will develop Multimodal Strategies, Projects, and Programs to address these goals generated through public input, data analysis, a review of existing conditions, and lived experience in the corridor.
The Task Force voted to recommend the following Goals:
Air Quality: Foster local and regional clean air quality
Community: Support thriving communities by enhancing the health and quality of life of residents
Environment: Enhance the natural and built environment
Mobility: Improve the mobility of people and goods
Opportunity: Increase community access to quality jobs, workforce development, and economic opportunities
Prosperity: Strengthen LA County’s economic competitiveness and increase access to quality jobs, workforce development, and economic opportunities for all communities, with a focus on strengthening the 710 Corridor communities, which have been and continue to be harmed by economic development
Safety: Make all modes of travel safer
Staff will work with project stakeholders to develop objectives for each goal. Objectives are more detailed components for each Goal (also known as sub-goals) for which strategies can be created that more directly address each Goal or set of multiple Goals.
Pre-Investment Plan Opportunity
The State of California seeks to invest in the I-710 South Corridor transportation system through projects being delivered by Caltrans District 7 (Attachment E) along I-710 South as well as through Senate Bill 198 (SB 198; Chapter 71, Statutes of 2022), which provides $950 million to support goods movement related projects and programs in and around the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles -- $110 million to help build the Goods Movement Training Center to support workforce development at the ports and $840 million through the Port and Freight Infrastructure Program that seeks to improve the capacity, safety, efficiency and resilience of goods movement to, from and through California’s maritime ports, while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions and harmful impacts to communities adjacent to goods movement corridors and facilities.
To fulfill its purpose, the 710 Task Force will seek to complement these investments by leveraging local funding made available through Measures R and M for the overall I-710 South Corridor Project with additional state and federal funding to address the many needs of Corridor communities and the regional transportation system that moves people and goods in and through the Corridor. Recognizing the unprecedented amount of discretionary grant funding made available at the State (through programs administered by California’s Transportation Commission and State Transportation Agency) and Federal levels (through existing, augmented, and new programs funded through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act/Bipartisan Infrastructure Law) in 2022, the Board directed staff via Motion 9 to return with a “minimum of three initiatives that will apply for available State and Federal funding opportunities in Calendar Year 2022,” in advance of the 710 Task Force Investment Plan being finalized in 2023.
To fulfill this directive staff put out a request to the Task Force membership, the CLC, cities, local agencies, and organizations to provide nominations for projects it had or could submit for State or Federal grant funding in 2022 - with the understanding that these projects must be located within the 710 Task Force study area and would not draw down on the remaining Measures R and M funding for the I-710 South Corridor Project to be leveraged by the Task Force’s Investment Plan. The latter criterion assuaged concerns raised by Task Force members that the local funding available as the foundation for the Investment Plan (approximately $730 million) could be siphoned away in support of projects neither vetted nor recommended by the Task Force.
Staff received from stakeholders 22 project nominations ranging from categories such as Transit, Clean Air/Energy, Goods Movement, Corridor Mobility, Complete Streets, and Roadway Design (Attachment F). These projects, including information provided by project sponsors, were presented to the CLC and Equity Working Group (EWG) before the Task Force discussion at the August 2022 meeting. The CLC and EWG raised several questions about the nominated projects based on the information available at the time - some of these concerns were echoed in a letter from the Coalition for Environmental Health and Justice (Attachment F).
Staff also identified 13 additional projects for which Metro played a role in developing or supporting for grant funding: 11 city projects submitted for CTC Active Transportation Program funding earlier in the year and two Metro-led I-710 South Corridor projects that would be competitive for grant funding in 2022 - the I-710 Integrated Corridor Management project and the Humphreys Avenue Bike/Pedestrian Crossing over I-710 in East LA. Altogether, 35 projects were considered for the PIPO.
After analyzing the projects, understanding the concerns raised and input provided by the CLC, EWG, Task Force and other stakeholders, and identifying projects for which a grant application had not yet been submitted, staff identified a full PIPO (Attachment F) for Board review and a set of early initiative projects (Table 1) for Board consideration.
More details on these four projects are found in Attachment F. These projects comprise pedestrian and bicycle safety, active transportation, transit enhancement, goods movement, corridor mobility, intelligent transportation system, and Zero-Emission technology project components. Collectively these projects represent an approach to investment in the I-710 South Corridor that advances Metro’s Multimodal Highway Investment Objectives policy and aligns with the Goals recommended by the Task Force. Staff will work with local jurisdictions and key stakeholders to develop these grant applications and will seek Board approval to program local match for the Humphreys Avenue Bike/Pedestrian Crossing over I-710 in East LA and Southeast LA Transit Improvement Program projects. The Task Force will evaluate all projects not funded by grants for inclusion in the final Investment Plan.
Table 1: PIPO Early Initiative Candidate Projects
|
Project |
Funding Program(s) |
Application Deadline |
Project Cost (est.) |
Local Match |
|
Humphreys Avenue Bike/Pedestrian Crossing over I-710 in East LA* |
LPP-C Other Federal |
November 29, 2022 |
$12.0 M |
$6.0 M* |
|
Huntington Park Safe Routes for Students and Seniors |
State ATP |
June 15, 2022 |
$4.8 M |
N/A |
|
I-710 Integrated Corridor Management Project |
State TCEP |
November 18, 2022 |
$30.2 M |
$7.2 M |
|
Southeast LA Transit Improvement Program* |
State LPP-C |
November 29, 2022 |
$29.5 M |
$15.0 M* |
ATP = Active Transportation Program *pending Board approval to program local match
LPP-C = Local Partnership Program - Competitive
TCEP = Trade Corridor Enhancement Program
Other Federal = USDOT’s Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program, Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity, and Neighborhood Access and Equity Grant Program
Re-Branding of the I-710 South Corridor Project
Motion 9 sought to change the I-710 South Corridor Project name “in order to be more inclusive of the priorities and approaches that will be advanced in the future of this project, with more attention to more than just the freeway” and asked staff to return to the Board with a recommendation for consideration and approval.
To fulfill this directive, staff engaged in a multi-pronged effort to gather input from community and Task Force stakeholders on potential candidates for a new name that would reflect the communities-and not just the freeway-within the I-710 South Corridor.
After receiving input from stakeholders, staff identified five candidates to include in a public poll that was conducted from July 18 to August 2, 2022. These five candidates were as follows:
• Re-Connecting Communities: The Southeast LA Mobility Investment Plan
• The San Pedro Bay to East LA Future Mobility Investment Plan
• The Long Beach-East LA Corridor Mobility Investment Plan
• My Gateway Community Investment Plan
• Let’s Clear the Air: A Mobility Investment Plan
Respondents were asked to rank these candidate names according to their preference, from 1st to 5th, and were also asked to provide suggestions for using keywords or themes from any of these candidates that could be combined or re-ordered into a new name option. Over 500 responses in English and Spanish were received for this poll. Staff also sought input from the CLC on these names before the August 2022 Task Force meeting (Attachment D).
The top three ranked name change recommendations resulting from this poll were as follows:
1. The Long Beach-East LA Corridor Mobility Investment Plan (average rank: 2.47)
2. Re-Connecting Communities: The Southeast LA Mobility Investment Plan (2.64)
3. The San Pedro Bay to East LA Future Mobility Investment Plan (3.13)
Staff presented these three top-ranked names to the Task Force for discussion, input, and a vote as to which one to recommend for Board consideration. The Task Force ultimately selected (with 63% support) the top ranked option - The Long Beach-East LA Corridor Mobility Investment Plan - as its recommendation to the CEO. Moving forward, references to I-710 South Corridor for this project will be changed to the Long Beach-East LA Corridor should the Board approve this new name.
Staff concurs with the Task Force’s recommendation and presents it to the Board for consideration and approval.
Determination_Of_Safety_Impact
DETERMINATION OF SAFETY IMPACT
The Investment Plan developed by the Task Force includes safety as a key goal that will help guide the creation of a safer, more community-supportive approach to moving people and goods through the I-710 South Corridor and its communities.
Equity_Platform
EQUITY PLATFORM
Staff is engaging stakeholders, including those most likely to be impacted by potential improvements in the corridor, through a Community Leadership Committee (CLC) and other avenues of public engagement to develop an Investment Plan for the I-710 South Corridor collaboratively. The CLC is composed entirely of residents from the communities along the corridor, meetings are facilitated in English and Spanish, and CLC members are compensated through the agency’s Advisory Body Compensation Policy. The CLC continues to participate in orientations and CLC business meetings as well as in the Equity Working Group (EWG) and Zero-Emissions Truck Working Group meetings. Through their participation, the CLC reviews proposals and develops recommendations for consideration by the Task Force - as an example, the CLC discussed and gave input on the Vision Statement, Guiding Principles, Goals, Pre-Investment Plan Opportunity, and a new name in advance of the Task Force considering these items. Their comments and input for all these important milestones are captured in Attachment D.
Staff has also begun the implementation of a Community Based Organization (CBO) Partnering Strategy with CBOs that are based in and work with the communities along the I-710 South Corridor. Metro’s goal is to engage these communities by gathering input from CBOs and the people they serve to identify multi-modal strategies, projects, and programs that are needs and priorities for these impacted communities.
The EWG, which includes Task Force and CLC members, meets regularly to ensure that all aspects of the Task Force’s work and recommendations consider historical and current inequities and discuss solutions and decisions to maximize equitable outcomes. The EWG helped draft the language for the Equity Principle and provided recommendations to improve the Vision Statement.
With this action, the 710 Task Force and its attendant working groups and CLC will continue to promote community-driven conversations to ensure an equitable decision-making process as the Task Force develops multimodal strategies and identifies priority projects and programs for the I-710 South Corridor to be brought to the Metro Board for consideration.
Implementation_of_Strategic_Plan_Goals
IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS
Collaboration among the I-710 South Corridor communities, impacted residents and stakeholders through 710 Task Force meetings and its attendant committees and public outreach forums, such as the ZE Truck Working Group, is consistent with the following goals of the Metro Vision 2028 Strategic Plan:
Goal 1: Provide high-quality mobility options that enable people to spend less time traveling.
Goal 4: Transform LA County through regional collaboration and national leadership.
Goal 5: Provide responsive, accountable, and trustworthy governance within the Metro organization.
Next_Steps
NEXT STEPS
Staff will meet with the Community Leadership Committee on September 22, 2022, to present the I-710 ICM project and will continue working with Caltrans to submit a TCEP funding application for this project.
Concurrently, staff will further explore grant development and funding opportunities to advance the Southeast LA Transit Improvement Program and the Humphreys Avenue Bike/Pedestrian Crossing over I-710 in East LA projects.
With the Board’s approval of the name change for the corridor, staff will proceed to revise all Task Force materials to reflect the new name.
The 710 Task Force will continue the development of its next phase-Multimodal Strategies, Projects, and Programs-in its upcoming meetings. Following this phase, the Task Force will evaluate projects and create the Investment Plan that will ultimately be presented to the Board mid-2023.
Attachments
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - Staff Recommendations for Board Consideration
Attachment B - 710 Task Force Study Area
Attachment C - Motion by Directors Hahn, Solis, Mitchell and Dutra, May 2022
(Item 9, File #2022-0355)
Attachment D - Community Leadership Committee Input
Attachment E - Caltrans District 7 Projects along I-710 South
Attachment F - Pre-Investment Plan Opportunity
Prepared_by
Prepared by:
Michael Cano, Executive Officer (Interim), Countywide Planning & Development, (213) 418-3010
KeAndra Cylear Dodds, Executive Officer, Office of Equity and Race, (213) 922-4850
Ernesto Chaves, Senior Executive Officer (Interim), Countywide Planning & Development (213) 922-7343
Reviewed_By
Reviewed by:
James de la Loza, Chief Planning Officer, (213) 922-2920
