Meeting_Body
2028 OLYMPICS COMMITTEE
JUNE 14, 2023
Subject
SUBJECT: 2028 MOBILITY CONCEPT PLAN UPDATE
Action
ACTION: RECEIVE AND FILE
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
RECEIVE AND FILE the progress report on the 2028 Mobility Concept Plan.
Issue
ISSUE
The 2028 Games Mobility Concept Plan (MCP) Report outlines: Metro’s vision for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games (the Games), case studies of other major sporting events, and the next steps to support the transportation infrastructure needed to enhance mobility for the Games and beyond. The report provides Metro and its partners with a near-term road map for funding advocacy, collaboration for project delivery, and achievement of the MCP’s diverse set of objectives while improving and better integrating our multimodal transportation systems for more equitable mobility. The MCP is a living document; staff will continually update the plan as projects progress, better information is available, and funding materializes. Metro’s Office of Strategic Innovation will oversee the implementation of the plan over the next five years.
This is the fourth biannual progress report to the Metro Board of Directors regarding efforts to develop a 2028 Mobility Concept Plan ("the MCP”) in anticipation of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games (“the Games”) and pursuit of state and federal funds to support the transportation infrastructure needed for the Games and beyond.
Background
BACKGROUND
2028 Mobility Concept Plan
At its December 3, 2020 meeting, the Metro Board of Directors approved Motion 42: “2028 Mobility Concept Plan” (Attachment A) and directed staff to work with regional partners to assign staff resources and proceed with the development of a regional investment plan to include a federal engagement strategy and funding proposal to implement transportation improvements that would provide permanent, long-term benefits to the people of Los Angeles County. Motion 42 directed staff to report back to the Board to apprise them of the progress.
Since 2021, as the mobility leader responsible for spectator and workforce transportation for the 2028 Games, Metro has been working with LA28, Caltrans, Metrolink, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, and the City of Los Angeles Mayor’s Office, a group collectively known as the Games Mobility Executives (GME), to develop a 2028 MCP. Following an extensive agency stakeholder outreach process to create the Comprehensive Project List, covering over 300 projects and including input from Metro Service Councils, Councils of Governments, venue cities, GME partner agencies, municipal operators, and other organizations, Metro’s 2028 Games Task Force completed a multi-step screening and prioritization process leading to a shorter list of projects and programs. In December 2022, the Board approved this shorter list titled, 2022 Mobility Concept Plan (MCP) Prioritized Project List (Attachment B). This list comprises 50 partially funded or unfunded projects/programs, including capital and operational improvements that align with the mission of Motion 42. The 2022 MCP Prioritized Project List is a living document and will change based on Metro and the GME’s ability to secure funding.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
The 2028 Games Task Force has made significant progress on the MCP regarding technical analysis and coordination. During this reporting period (December 2022 - June 2023), the team has focused on:
• Development of a GME Surface Transportation Priority List
• Priority project refinement
• Development of an Implementation Plan for priority projects
GME Coordination for USDOT Surface Transportation Project List
Using the 2022 Prioritized MCP Project List as a basis, the GME identified a subset of 15 projects/programs (some of which are bundles of projects) deemed to either serve a specific Games delivery need (e.g., the supplemental bus system), or be highly beneficial and supportive of the transport strategy for the Games (e.g., a network of bus-only lanes). Attachment C contains the final GME Surface Transportation Priority List. In the development of this short list, the GME bundled several projects from the Prioritized MCP into groups. Below is a list of projects included as part of a bundle:
• Countywide Transportation Demand Management Campaign, Freight Transportation Demand Management, and Universal Fare/Ticketing Integration bundled into Transportation Demand Management Program
• ATSAC/LARTMC Integration and Operations Enhancements and Arterial Network Traffic Signal Analytics combined into one program.
• 7th/Metro Center Station Upgrades, C/K Lines Station Platform Extensions and Reliability Upgrades, Systemwide Elevator and Escalator Improvements, Pico Station Second Platform, Union Station Improvements, and Games Sports Park Stations State-of-Good-Repair Improvements bundled into Key Station Improvements.
• Washington Wye Junction/Flower Street Operational Improvements and additional speed and reliability improvements bundled into Light Rail Transit Speed and Reliability Improvements.
• Sports Park Metro Zero-Emission Bus Fleet and Local Municipal Operators Call for Projects bundled into Zero Emission Phase 1 Program.
• Los Angeles Universities Mobility Hubs and Rail and Bus Games Mobility Hubs bundled into Countywide Mobility Hubs.
• Bus-only lanes and Transit Signal Priority (TSP) improvements along Atlantic Blvd, Broadway and Venice Blvd., the Vermont Bus Rapid Transit Project, and the Games Route Network Bus Only Lanes & TSP (over 100 additional miles) bundled into Countywide Bus-Only Lanes and TSP Improvements.
The GME submitted this Surface Transportation Priority List to U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) in December 2022 for further discussion and consideration (Attachment C).
Development of an Implementation Plan
As an immediate next step, the GME determined the key roles and responsibilities for each agency to begin the development of an implementation plan for the Surface Transportation Priority List, as summarized in the table below.
|
Project Name |
Lead Agency for Imp. Plan Development |
Partner / Stakeholder Agencies for Imp. Plan Develop, Project Delivery, and/or Operations |
|
Supplemental Bus System |
Metro |
LA28, LADOT, other national municipal transit agencies (as applicable) |
|
Countywide Mobility Hubs |
Metro |
Caltrans, LADOT, Metrolink, LA28 |
|
Games Route Network Design & Implementation |
LA28 |
Metro, Caltrans, LADOT, other local agencies (as applicable) |
|
ATSAC/LARTMC Integration and Operations Enhancements |
LADOT |
Metro, Caltrans, other local agencies (as applicable) |
|
Countywide Bus Only Lanes & TSP Improvements |
Metro |
LADOT, Caltrans, other local agencies (as applicable) |
|
Transit/Venue Ped/Bike Access Enhancements |
City of LA |
Metro, other local agencies (as applicable) |
|
Phase I Zero Emissions Bus Program |
Metro |
LA28 |
|
Open Street to Uplift Arts, Culture, and Recreation |
Metro |
City of LA, LA28 |
|
Countywide and Freight TDM Program |
Metro |
City of LA, Caltrans, Port of LA, Port of Long Beach, Freight Railroads |
|
Universal Basic Mobility |
Metro |
LADOT, Caltrans |
|
Key Station Improvements (SOGR) |
Metro |
City of LA |
|
Light Rail Speed and Operational Improvements |
Metro |
LADOT |
|
Inglewood Transit Connector |
City of Inglewood |
|
|
Metrolink Fleet and Track Capacity Improvements: SCORE Phase I Completion |
Metrolink |
|
|
Access Services EV Fleet and Infrastructure |
Metro |
Access Services |
Following this assignment of responsibilities, staff prioritized the following seven projects/programs with long-lead times for implementation to immediately begin project development work: Games Route Network, Supplemental Bus System, Countywide Mobility Hubs, Countywide Bus-Only Lanes, Transit/Venue Ped/Bike Access Enhancements (First/Last Mile), Key Station Improvements and Light Rail Speed and Operations Improvements. Additional project definition and, in some cases, prioritization, are required for these in order to successfully compete for funding opportunities. The progress made over the past five months on these seven projects/programs is described below. Furthermore, Metro has undertaken the development of a dedicated travel demand forecasting model to forecast Games-related travel and to develop operational plans over the next five years.
Progress to date on Priority Projects/Programs (January - June 2023)
Games Route Network
This Games-specific workstream advances the identification and planning of the Games Route Network (GRN), a commitment made in LA28’s bid document. The GRN will provide designated lanes and create a network between competition and non-competition venues (i.e., Athletes Village and Media Village). The GRN will provide reliable travel times for the Games Family (i.e., athletes, officials, and media) and potentially public transit for the Games’ workforce and spectators.
Metro and LA28 have been reevaluating the GRN identified in the bid document. Staff evaluated potential new routes that considered existing and future ExpressLanes and bus-only lane corridors. Metro and GME partners also considered various scenarios and alternate routes. A key consideration of the GRN is creating legacy benefits by transitioning the arterial GRN into bus-only lanes after the 2028 Games. Future steps include operational analysis, coordination with key stakeholders, and updating legislative policies to enable GRN operations during the 2028 Games.
Supplemental Bus System
To meet the Games demand, Metro will support LA28 with a temporary, supplemental bus system for the Games workforce and spectators. It is customary practice for major sporting events to implement supplemental bus systems, including Los Angeles 1984, Salt Lake City 2002, London 2012, and Paris 2024.
LA28’s preliminary estimates show a need to temporarily double Metro’s bus fleet to meet the mobility demands of the 2028 Games. Staff is exploring various strategies to stand up a supplemental bus system. Potential strategies include borrowing buses from peer transit agencies, delaying the retirement of Metro’s current bus vehicles, utilizing school buses, procuring zero-emission buses, and contracting with third-party charter bus companies.
In March 2023, Metro distributed a survey to peer transit agencies nationwide to express their interest in supporting the 2028 Games, including lending buses, drivers, and mechanics. Approximately 70 agencies responded to the survey, with the majority from California. The following is a summary of the survey responses:
• 40% will likely provide buses
• 48% may be interested in providing
• 35% will likely provide staff
• 55% may be interested in providing staff
• Respondents cited approximately 850 buses and 450 staff that may be available to Metro for the 2028 Games.
Staff is working with LA28 on developing a preliminary plan for the supplemental bus system. The plan will outline the assumed number of vehicles and drivers, vehicle types, fueling/charging infrastructure, temporary bus depot locations, staffing ratios, and level of service. This will create a roadmap for standing up a temporary bus fleet for the 2028 Games, while capturing potential legacy benefits to support Metro’s zero-emission bus program conversion.
Countrywide Mobility Hubs
The Mobility Hub workstream seeks to enhance multimodal connectivity by connecting people to the public transportation network, park‑and‑ride facilities, the supplemental bus system, and the 2028 Games venues.
Staff from Countywide Planning and the Office of Strategic Innovation have been coordinating efforts regarding mobility hubs. Staff is considering four types of mobility hubs that meet the goals and needs of the 2028 Games and contribute to the positive legacy of the Games on the region’s mobility system. The following are the varying types of proposed mobility hubs:
• Venues Mobility Hub: Located directly adjacent to the 2028 Games venues where users can easily access Metro rail or bus, or the supplemental bus system.
• Central Mobility Hubs: Located at Metro rail and BRT stations that have significant parking infrastructure and can support a bus mall for the supplemental bus system.
• Neighborhood & Equity-Focused Mobility Hubs: Locations that provide users with a range of micro-mobility options to connect people who rely on transit.
• Park & Ride Mobility Hubs: Existing or repurposed locations that can accommodate a large volume of parking. Games spectators will park their cars and use the supplemental bus system to get to venues.
Metro is establishing criteria and amenities for each typology to determine specific locations in coordination with LA28 and GME partners. Staff will refine the potential sites based on the mobility hub criteria and equity assessment. This work will support the development of a phasing plan. The phasing plan will outline a timeline for funding, design, and implementation.
Countywide Bus Only Lanes
Using the 2028 Games as a catalyst to accelerate Metro’s goals, this workstream advances efforts to implement bus-only lanes across Los Angeles County. Bus-only lanes are being considered on corridors that are part of Metro’s NextGen Tier 1 network, Metro’s BRT Vision and Principles Study, and GRN routes near venues.
Staff coordinated with the NextGen Bus Speed and Reliability Working group to advance this legacy effort. Work consists of existing condition assessments, feasibility studies, traffic analysis, and a phasing framework. Staff will be coordinating with local jurisdictions to develop the phasing plan and work together on the next steps to advance the corridors into design and prepare for upcoming funding opportunities.
First/Last Mile
In order to support a “car-free” Games, streets that connect venues to Metro transit must be improved for people walking, biking, and rolling. The First/Last Mile workstream advances walking, rolling, and active transportation street improvements on critical-access streets at up to ten venue clusters across Los Angeles County.
Metro staff identified and analyzed key pathways based on their connectivity between high-quality transit stops and access points to 2028 Games venues. Street and user experience improvements were identified along these routes to help users walk, bike, and roll between the key transit stations and venues. Staff are working with local jurisdictions to package improvements that may be competitive for federal funding opportunities. Furthermore, equity criteria will continue to be used in the phasing efforts and funding considerations to identify key priority improvements. Later in the year, staff will prepare conceptual designs for these first/last mile improvements at stations that support 2028 Games venues. Metro anticipates working with LA28 later this year to coordinate LA28’s venue plans and access points that will be developed in the next few months.
Key Station Improvements
The Key Station Improvements workstream undertakes planning efforts around needed maintenance, accessibility, and customer experience improvements at 7th/Metro Center, Union Station, and Pico stations. The GME may add additional stations based on findings from the travel demand modeling efforts.
Staff assessed various capacity enhancements and crowd management strategies at transit stations from previous major sporting events. Potential strategies may include temporary platforms and overcrossing, queuing channelization, portable ramps/platform humps, branded wayfinding and signs, safety and security measures, and designated alighting/boarding stations.
The analysis used a Games-specific station audit checklist using these best practices and Metro’s existing Systemwide Station Design Standards, Operations Station Evaluation, and the Gender Action Plan Tool checklists. Staff is currently in the process of auditing 7th/Metro Center, Union Station, and Pico stations. The Metro Olympics Task Force will review the findings for consideration. With input from various groups at Metro (Systemwide Design, Operations, Wayfinding, Accessibility, Safety and Security, Customer Experience), staff will recommend potential permanent and temporary improvements to prepare these key stations to handle the anticipated 2028 Games demand.
Light Rail Speed and Operations Improvements
This workstream will improve special event operations and travel time along the A Line, E Line, and L Line through the following improvements: Washington Wye operational improvements, a new siding along the E Line, and two new interlocks before and after Memorial Park Station.
Over the past few months, staff have conducted feasibility studies for these speed and operational improvements. Next, staff will conceptually design these improvements and provide updated implementation schedules and cost estimates over the next couple of months.
Washington Wye roadway and traffic signal improvements are being considered first as staff awaits the Regional Connector to complete testing. The results of the testing phase will help staff make better informed decisions on potential improvements that can be achieved before the 2028 Games. Staff will continue coordinating with Metro operations to discuss feasible improvements and collaborate with local jurisdictions on the proposed roadway and traffic improvements.
Other Metro-led Projects
Staff has also advanced work on a few other Metro-led projects/programs from the Surface Transportation Priority List. The project development lead times on these are not anticipated to be as long; however, it is important that initial project chartering conversations be held with potential partners, and those are planned for the first half of FY24. Below is a summary of current and planned efforts for these projects/programs.
|
Project/Program |
Progress to Date |
Planned Activity for Q1/Q2 FY24 |
|
Countywide Travel and Freight Demand Management |
Integrated Ticketing - Metro was awarded $2 million for the Integrated Transit Trip Planning and Fare Purchase with Event Ticketing pilot Phase I through USDOT’s Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) Grant program. The pilot will develop, build, and test a minimal viable product (MVP) that integrates transit trip planning and fare purchase with event ticketing, such as for concerts and sporting events. While the project scope is to test, develop and evaluate the above minimal viable product within 18 months, the proposal referenced the longer-term benefits of integrating transit with events, including preparation for the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Games. |
Partnering and chartering sessions with GME, other local, state and federal agencies and private partners to begin developing the framework of a travel and freight demand management program for the games. |
|
Open Streets to Uplift Arts, Culture, and Recreation Program |
Progress report and motion response provided to the Board in March 2023 - File #: 2023-0075. |
Staff will work with internal and external stakeholders to secure funding sources. |
|
Phase I Zero Emission Bus Program |
Ongoing discussions with OSI, Operations and Government Relations on path forward. |
Confirm/refine scope of work based on most recent Zero Emission Bus Transition Plan. |
|
Universal Basic Mobility |
Ongoing discussions with CXO, TAP, OSI and Operations on path forward. |
Partnering and chartering sessions with GME, other local, state and federal agencies to begin developing the framework for this program. |
|
Access Services |
Ongoing discussions with Task Force about path forward. |
Partnering and chartering sessions with GME and Access Services. |
LA28 and GME Coordination
Staff have been meeting with the LA28 mobility team on a weekly basis to ensure Metro’s internal planning efforts align with the Games needs. Over a dozen workshops have been held with LA28 to understand the needs of hosting the Games and ensure the solutions to those needs are included in the project list. GME staff meet on a monthly basis to review progress at a high level, and GME subject matter experts meet regularly as needed for deep dives into project workstreams. As described above, Metro has collaborated with the GME to be the aggregator of all MCP projects. Other GME discussions have centered around the overall transport vision and strategy for the Games, as well as roles and responsibilities of each agency. In order to support regional planning and coordination for the Games, the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) was added to the GME in April of 2023.
Peer Transit Agency Outreach
Since the last Board update, staff worked closely with the GME to reduce the MCP Comprehensive Project List of 50 projects to 15 Surface Transportation
Priority projects. Once the 15 Priority projects were bundled, staff developed project-specific workstreams and worked closely with GME partners to assign critical subject matter experts from each agency to the appropriate workstreams, Metro hosted GME Staff Lead Orientations to onboard agency staff and empower them to create a meaningful impact on their areas of expertise.
As mentioned above, Metro conducted outreach to national transit agencies to gather information on their fleet, workforce, and interest in participating in a Supplemental Bus System for 2028. Building on two national-level roundtables during the 2022 APTA Conference, the CEO hosted two additional workshops, with the first being on March 11, 2023, during the APTA Legislative Conference, and the second on April 23, 2023, during the APTA Mobility Conference. The first session was a discussion on the transportation needs and planning goals for the 2028 Games (e.g., additional buses and operators), followed by the second, which was a Thought Leadership Workshop, hearing lessons-learned from MARTA COO George Wright on the 1996 Summer Olympics Games, UTA CEO Jay Fox on the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, and JTA CEO Nat Ford on innovative technology implementation.
These recent meetings hosted executive leadership from over 35 agencies to better understand the challenges and possibilities, as well as lessons learned from prior experiences on delivering vehicles for Olympic Games or similar large-scale events. Staff plans to continue using these events as an effective way of engaging the industry as we continue to plan for the Supplemental Bus System.
The complete Mobility Concept Plan is in Attachment D.
Equity_Platform
EQUITY PLATFORM
Approximately 90% of the proposed 2028 Games venues within Los Angeles County are located in or near Equity Focused Communities (EFCs), using the latest 2022 EFC Map for the analysis. As a result, staff relied on guidance from the Office of Equity and Race (OER) to ensure the project screening criteria used in the development of the 2022 MCP Priority Project List included an equitable approach and EFCs receive their fair share of beneficial outcomes and are protected from a disproportionate amount of the potential adverse impacts.
The MCP project list was linked to other social benefits and policy goals beyond mobility for the Games to ensure that underserved and heavy transit user communities can realize those benefits. This was achieved by working with the OER to refine the equity criteria and metrics to be more quantitative, data-driven, and refined to reflect social benefits and Metro’s policy goals, including improving access to opportunity. Equity was emphasized in the prioritization of the project list with a weighted score of 40%. This translated into projects with higher equity scores ranking higher overall and getting included in the 2022 MCP Prioritized Project List. Over the next few months, as projects are further refined and prioritized within each of the workstreams, staff will work with OER in the application of equity criteria as part of the analysis. This will be especially relevant and useful in the First Last Mile, Bus Only Lanes, and Mobility Hubs workstreams.
The GME has committed to providing comprehensive public affairs and communications support when plans are ready to be shared with the public. In partnership with SCAG and their diverse roster of agencies and organizations, the next rounds of targeted community conversations will bring EFCs into the project development process. At the core of this outreach and engagement work is Metro’s commitment to equity, transparency, and inclusion.
Implementation_of_Strategic_Plan_Goals
IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS
The development of the MCP supports strategic goals #1 “Provide high-quality mobility options that enable people to spend less time traveling, #2 “Deliver outstanding trip experiences for all users of the transportation system,” and #4 “Transform LA County through regional collaboration and national leadership” by providing a roadmap and strategy to deliver permanent transit and transit-supportive projects and programs that can help serve the 2028 Games.
Next_Steps
NEXT STEPS
By the end of 2023, staff will complete the scope refinements and prioritization for seven of the 15 Surface Transportation Priority projects. This effort will be critical to ensuring these projects can compete for State and Federal funding opportunities and be delivered in time for the Games. Initial partnering and scoping conversations will be initiated for additional projects/programs led by Metro. Following this, staff will develop a detailed implementation plan. Staff will also continue to coordinate with the GME on the development and implementation of a legislative funding strategy.
Outreach and engagement will continue with agency partners and venue cities through 2028. Targeted transit partner outreach to Councils of Government, Service Councils, and local municipal transit operators is scheduled to restart in the summer of 2023 as our workstreams develop further. This fall, staff anticipates targeted community and public conversations for individual projects to ensure that our process remains inclusive and equitable to diverse communities that may be impacted.
Attachments
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - Motion 42: 2028 Mobility Concept Plan
Attachment B - 2022 MCP Prioritized Project List
Attachment C - GME Surface Transportation Priority List
Attachment D - Mobility Concept Plan
Prepared_by
Prepared by: Ernesto Chaves, Executive Officer, Office of Strategic Innovation, (213) 418-3142
Kasey Shuda, Director, Construction Relations, (213) 454-6479
Jacqueline Torres, Senior Manager, Transportation Planning, (213) 547-4208
Reviewed_By
Reviewed by: Seleta Reynolds, Chief, Office of Strategic Innovation, (213) 922-4656
Nicole Englund, Chief of Staff, (213) 922-7950
