Latest news with #StephanieWiggins
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Metro committee moves forward on $9.4-billion budget as Olympics funding remains uncertain
With a fiscal deficit on the horizon and billions of dollars in federal funding requests still up in the air, a Metropolitan Transportation Authority committee voted to move forward with a $9.4- billion budget for the 2026 fiscal year — a 2% increase of more than $180 million from the previous budget. During a public budget hearing on Thursday and in written comments, residents cited safety as a top priority for Metro after a spate of violence against bus operators in recent years, and regular reports of crime in and around Metro stations. The transit agency's proposal includes more than $390 million for public safety — a nearly 2% increase from the last fiscal year. The bulk of the budget would go to transit operations, with nearly $3 billion marked for rail and bus expansion and more than $2 billion for infrastructure planning for projects, including the Vermont Transit Corridor bus lane project and Sepulveda Corridor rail project, and construction for projects that include the D Line extension to the Westside. But future funding remains uncertain amid questions over how tariffs and inflation will affect the economy, as well as state and federal investments. 'As we look ahead to major events like the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympics, we know we'll have to make some tough decisions. But we'll always use our core values to guide us,' Metro finance, budget and audit committee chair Tim Sandoval said Thursday. The budget will be presented to the full Metro board next week. The agency is facing "a deficit of $2.3 billion through 2030," Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins warned state leaders earlier this year. In a March letter to Senate Pro Tempore Mike McGuire (D-North Coast), Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister), state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and state Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino), Wiggins said that while the transit agency is at 90% of pre-pandemic ridership numbers after a dip and has exceeded 2019 passenger numbers on Sundays, Metro still faces significant financial challenges. She advocated for the state to include a $2-billion request in its budget for transit operations equitably distributed among state agencies. Gov. Gavin Newsom's budget revision on Wednesday did not include the request, ignoring transit and safe streets activists who have warned that the absence of those funds could cause service cuts for a number of public transit agencies throughout the state, including Metrolink. 'Public transportation is vital for jobs, for the health of our economy, and our goal is to ensure that everybody is able to get to where they need to go — from work to school to play — and we believe that the state has to play a role in ensuring that,' said Eli Lipmen of Move LA. 'The operations and maintenance of our system are also critical because the No. 1 issue for transit riders is reliability.' Lipmen's organization was one of several that hung banners from freeway overpasses throughout the state this week calling on Newsom to 'fund transit.' The state recently sued the Trump administration over its policy to deny billions of dollars in transportation grants if California didn't follow the federal government's plan for immigration enforcement. Lipmen supported the action but said the suit would affect only capital programs and that the state still needs to increase funds for transit operations. The state budget proposal, which is still subject to change, did make a significant revision from January by pulling $17.6 million from the state's highway fund toward Olympics and Paralympics planning. The funding singled out Metro's Games Route Network, which would designate a series of roads for travel by athletes, media, officials, the International Olympics Committee, spectators and workers. Critical parts of Metro's Olympics plans are yet to be nailed down. The agency has yet to confirm $2 billion in funds to lease nearly 3,000 buses, which are integral to Los Angeles' transit-first goal for the Games. The financial crisis affecting the city of Los Angeles, which has a separate budget from Metro, could also jeopardize plans ahead of 2028 as several transit and infrastructure agencies face cutbacks and layoffs. The top leader for the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, for example, warned that cuts would affect support for major rail and bus lane projects ahead of the 2028 Olympics, in addition to parking enforcement, traffic signal updates and goals to improve traffic safety. Streets LA and the Bureau for Engineering — departments responsible for street and bridge repairs — are also facing significant cuts. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
15-05-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Metro committee moves forward on $9.4-billion budget as Olympics funding remains uncertain
With a fiscal deficit on the horizon and billions of dollars in federal funding requests still up in the air, a Metropolitan Transportation Authority committee voted to move forward with a $9.4- billion budget for the 2026 fiscal year — a 2% increase of more than $180 million from the previous budget. During a public budget hearing on Thursday and in written comments, residents cited safety as a top priority for Metro after a spate of violence against bus operators in recent years, and regular reports of crime in and around Metro stations. The transit agency's proposal includes more than $390 million for public safety — a nearly 2% increase from the last fiscal year. The bulk of the budget would go to transit operations, with nearly $3 billion marked for rail and bus expansion and more than $2 billion for infrastructure planning for projects, including the Vermont Transit Corridor bus lane project and Sepulveda Corridor rail project, and construction for projects that include the D Line extension to the Westside. But future funding remains uncertain amid questions over how tariffs and inflation will affect the economy, as well as state and federal investments. 'As we look ahead to major events like the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympics, we know we'll have to make some tough decisions. But we'll always use our core values to guide us,' Metro finance, budget and audit committee chair Tim Sandoval said Thursday. The budget will be presented to the full Metro board next week. The agency is facing 'a deficit of $2.3 billion through 2030,' Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins warned state leaders earlier this year. In a March letter to Senate Pro Tempore Mike McGuire (D-North Coast), Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister), state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and state Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino), Wiggins said that while the transit agency is at 90% of pre-pandemic ridership numbers after a dip and has exceeded 2019 passenger numbers on Sundays, Metro still faces significant financial challenges. She advocated for the state to include a $2-billion request in its budget for transit operations equitably distributed among state agencies. Gov. Gavin Newsom's budget revision on Wednesday did not include the request, ignoring transit and safe streets activists who have warned that the absence of those funds could cause service cuts for a number of public transit agencies throughout the state, including Metrolink. 'Public transportation is vital for jobs, for the health of our economy, and our goal is to ensure that everybody is able to get to where they need to go — from work to school to play — and we believe that the state has to play a role in ensuring that,' said Eli Lipmen of Move LA. 'The operations and maintenance of our system are also critical because the No. 1 issue for transit riders is reliability.' Lipmen's organization was one of several that hung banners from freeway overpasses throughout the state this week calling on Newsom to 'fund transit.' The state recently sued the Trump administration over its policy to deny billions of dollars in transportation grants if California didn't follow the federal government's plan for immigration enforcement. Lipmen supported the action but said the suit would affect only capital programs and that the state still needs to increase funds for transit operations. The state budget proposal, which is still subject to change, did make a significant revision from January by pulling $17.6 million from the state's highway fund toward Olympics and Paralympics planning. The funding singled out Metro's Games Route Network, which would designate a series of roads for travel by athletes, media, officials, the International Olympics Committee, spectators and workers. Critical parts of Metro's Olympics plans are yet to be nailed down. The agency has yet to confirm $2 billion in funds to lease nearly 3,000 buses, which are integral to Los Angeles' transit-first goal for the Games. The financial crisis affecting the city of Los Angeles, which has a separate budget from Metro, could also jeopardize plans ahead of 2028 as several transit and infrastructure agencies face cutbacks and layoffs. The top leader for the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, for example, warned that cuts would affect support for major rail and bus lane projects ahead of the 2028 Olympics, in addition to parking enforcement, traffic signal updates and goals to improve traffic safety. Streets LA and the Bureau for Engineering — departments responsible for street and bridge repairs — are also facing significant cuts.
Los Angeles Times
03-04-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
What about the bike lanes? Transit advocates say Metro project ignores city's mobility plans
When Los Angeles residents voted last year to implement the city's nearly decade-old mobility plan, transportation safety advocates called it a win for Los Angeles's pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists. Sidewalks would improve, traffic congestion would slow and bike lanes and bus lanes would be upgraded and built. But the scope of Measure HLA — the citywide initiative to follow through on what L.A. City Council had adopted in 2015 — has been at the center of a recent debate between advocates and Metro after the transit agency moved forward on a project for the county's busiest bus route without anticipated plans for new bike lanes. Transit advocates argue that the exclusion from the Vermont Avenue project ignores voters' mandate to follow the mobility plan, which calls for improved bike lanes on that street; Metro and city officials have countered that the measure applied only to the city of Los Angeles — not to the countywide transit agency. 'We don't think it's legal,' said Michael Schneider, who heads Streets for All, the advocacy group behind the ballot measure. 'HLA is a city measure, and Metro is a county agency, but Vermont is owned by the City of Los Angeles, and the city is working with Metro. They're permitting it, they're providing technical expertise, they're spending staff time and money. This falls under Measure HLA, which requires a bike lane on Vermont.' Last week, the agency's board of directors voted to approve plans for the Vermont Transit Corridor — a project that will add dedicated bus lanes and 26 stations at 13 locations along a 12.4-mile stretch on Vermont Avenue between 120th Street and Sunset Boulevard. The route sees 38,000 daily bus boardings, according to Metro, and that is expected to increase to 66,000 by 2045. The project is expected to especially improve transit access for disadvantaged communities and a high number of residents who identify as Black, Indigenous and people of color, according to Metro. The corridor includes a majority of low-income households, including residents without access to a car. The project is included in the Measure M expenditure plan, which allocated $425 million for construction. 'Metro is supportive of the goals and objectives of HLA, specifically we have worked — and will continue to work — with all local jurisdictions to provide better quality transit and safer streets for all of Los Angeles County,' the agency said in a statement. 'However, HLA does not apply to Metro projects.' The board vote did not include discussion and ignored pleas from public commenters who asked Metro to reconsider its plans to include upgraded bike lanes. The project has been under study for nearly a decade. According to Metro, the addition of new bike lanes would delay the project by up to five years, increase the cost and force Metro to acquire properties. In a letter to Metro Chief Executive Stephanie Wiggins last month, Schneider disputed Metro's assertions and said the addition of bike lanes would not cause delays or affect properties if parking was not prioritized over the upgrades. He warned that the plan without bike lanes would further compromise safety on the route for bicyclists and pedestrians. Vermont Avenue sees one of the city's highest pedestrian death and injury counts, according to Metro and Streets for All. Metro has maintained its stance. In a letter sent to L.A. City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson last month, an attorney for Metro said that the agency would take legal action if the city forced it to comply with Measure HLA. The attorney cited a letter that the city attorney sent Streets for All in November that said the agency does not need to comply with the measure, a point that was reiterated at an L.A. City Transportation Committee meeting in February. The attorney also pointed to an agreement between the city and Metro, which acknowledges the agency's 'self-governance authority.' 'The [agreement] simply does not transform Metro projects into City projects,' the letter states. Schneider and others have said that the agency's plan dismisses residents' needs. 'We have an epidemic of traffic fatalities and injuries,' said Eli Lipmen, the executive director of transit advocacy group Move L.A. 'Some of it has to do with how people drive and reckless driving, but a lot of it has to do with lack of good infrastructure.' Lipmen said that more people will be hurt if Metro does not allow for new protected bike lanes in its plans and hopes there is still time for conversation. 'Vermont needs to happen and needs to happen as soon as possible. We cannot delay this project another second,' Lipmen said. The project is expected to be completed by the 2028 Olympics.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Yahoo
LA Metro partially restores bus service connecting Malibu, Santa Monica
Bus service between Malibu and Santa Monica that was previously suspended due to the Palisades Fire will be partially restored Friday after nearly two months. LA Metro will have buses running on the 134 Line for the first time since service was suspended on Jan. 7. Line 134 will operate closed-door service, bypassing a 10-mile work zone on Pacific Coast Highway between Temescal Canyon Road and Rambla Vista, Metro says. Stops will be available at Malibu Pier, Cross Creek Road, Civic Center Way, Malibu Canyon Road, as well as in Santa Monica between the Downtown Santa Monica E Line Station and Ocean Avenue/Colorado Avenue. 'Resuming service on Line 134 is a crucial step toward supporting the residents and commuters who depend on this route from Malibu to Santa Monica,' said Metro Board Member and L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath. 'We are committed to restoring essential connectivity and getting back to normal service as quickly as recovery conditions allow.' The Palisades Fire ignited last month in a remote area of the Santa Monica Mountains, quickly spreading due to high winds and dry conditions. The blaze forced evacuations and damaged infrastructure, including key transit routes. Recent rains triggered mudslides and debris flow, further complicating recovery efforts. 'January's wildfires devastated the L.A. area and disrupted the connectivity of communities in and around the fire zones, which makes this partial restoration of service an important part of the recovery,' said Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins. While the restored service aims to reconnect Malibu and Santa Monica, Metro officials caution that operations are not yet back to normal. Delays are expected due to one-lane traffic and a 25 mph speed limit within the work zone. Schedules will be reviewed and adjusted as needed, they said. Malibu Mayor Doug Stewart praised the effort, noting the importance of public transportation in the community's recovery. 'This modified service strikes a careful balance of safety and ensuring residents, workers, and business patrons have a safe and reliable way to travel through the area,' he said. Metro says riders should plan for potential delays and remain patient as recovery efforts continue. For more information about Metro schedules, timelines and recovery efforts, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
