Meeting_Body
AD HOC 2028 OLYMPIC & PARALYMPIC GAMES COMMITTEE
OCTOBER 23, 2024
Subject
SUBJECT: 2028 MOBILITY CONCEPT PLAN IMPLEMENTATION REPORT
Action
ACTION: APPROVE RECOMMENDATION
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
CONSIDER:
A. RECEIVING AND FILING the Mobility Concept Plan (MCP) Implementation Report, and;
B. AUTHORIZING the CEO or their designee to amend the FY25 budget, in the amount of $9.67 million, to advance Metro-led GME STP projects with the Program.
Issue
ISSUE
This is a progress report regarding planning efforts in anticipation of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games (“the Games”) and the pursuit of state and federal funds to support the transportation infrastructure and operations needed for the region to support mobility during the Games. With fewer than four years remaining before the 2028 Games, Metro is reaching a crucial decision point. Federal grants have funded a small portion of the 2028 Mobility Concept Plan (2028 MCP) projects. Staff is seeking the Board’s support to continue the work necessary to advance critical projects to be delivered on time for the 2028 Games.
Background
BACKGROUND
Metro has worked with LA28, Caltrans, Metrolink, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT), the City of Los Angeles Mayor’s Office, and the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), a group collectively known as the Games Mobility Executives (GME), to develop the 2028 MCP. Metro’s Office of Strategic Innovation (OSI) is overseeing the implementation of the 2028 MCP.
Following an extensive agency stakeholder outreach process, Metro and the GME agencies identified a list of 15 priority MCP workstreams. The projects/programs under each workstream on the GME Surface Transportation Priority (GME STP) list (Attachment A) - presented at the June 2023 Board Meeting, either serve a specific Games delivery need (e.g., Games Enhance Transit System) or are highly beneficial and supportive of the transport strategy for the Games (e.g., a network of bus-only lanes). It is important to note that the estimated costs for each workstream have been updated based on the project development work completed over the past year. These new costs are reflected in the project implementation plans.
In early 2023, staff prioritized seven workstreams with long lead times from the GME STP list to immediately begin project development work: Games Route Network, Games Enhanced Transit 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.
A multi-disciplinary team from various Metro departments has collaborated with the GME to advance the planning and established the foundation to deliver these workstreams (i.e., project implementation plans), as described in Attachment B Progress Report, and securing initial funding from the Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods Grant for several key projects.
In March 2024, Board Motion 24.1 by Directors Solis, Bass, Hahn, Horvath, Najarian, and Yaroslavsky (Attachment C) directed the Chief Executive Officer to establish a Legislative Advocacy Working Group for the 2028 Games.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
The implementation plans for each of the 7 workstreams outline the vision for the project scope and provide a preliminary roadmap that identifies the steps needed to deliver the projects. These plans are a useful resource to engage stakeholders and prepare funding applications to address evaluation criteria and demonstrate project development. A key finding from the project implementation plans is that the environmental phase will need to start no later than the end of 2024 for these projects to be delivered by 2028.
The preliminary total cost for both legacy and essential Games-specific projects, including Games Route Network (GRN), and Games Enhanced Transit System (GETS), is approximately $3.1 billion. Funding to continue advancing the next phases of these projects needs to be secured no later than the end of Q4 of calendar year 2024 to be able to deliver the projects in time for the 2028 Games.
Federal agencies (e.g., USDOT and EPA) continue to move forward with grant opportunities made possible by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Staff continue to work with GME partners to monitor and evaluate potential state and federal funding opportunities that align with 2028 MCP projects and to strategize on partnerships that will lead to successful applications. The following table summarizes Metro’s grant applications related to the 2028 Games MCP legacy projects.
The funding strategy has been done in coordination with Metro’s Countywide Planning and Development Federal/State Policy and Programming (FSPP) department. Given the time it takes to pursue, be awarded, and receive discretionary federal funds, pursuing these discretionary grants will not be a viable approach beyond 2024 for funding the initial phases of the work. Final Design and construction activities could still be funded by federal grants and staff will continue to monitor these opportunities
Furthermore, there are no discretionary grants that the federal government offers that will fund the Games Enhanced Transit System (formerly Supplemental Bus System) or the Games Route Network that are required to implement the 2028 Games. As a result, Metro and the GME partners are seeking appropriations funding for the essential Games-specific projects. Concurrently, Metro and GME partners have focused on legacy projects for discretionary grants under IIJA and IRA.
Only a small portion (less than 5%) of the total costs associated with the Metro-led GME STP workstreams has been funded through awarded grants and Metro’s allocation of local funds, as described in the table below.
