Telephone Town Hall Meetings Begin Tonight on Metro’s Draft Expenditure Plan

According to Metro, Los Angeles County is expected to grow by 2.4 million people by 2057.  So to help local transportation systems meet that growing demand and position the region for even more future growth, the agency is updating its Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP), which provides a road map for transportation development up to 40 years in the future.

A key element of the LRTP updates is a new Draft Expenditure Plan, introduced in March of this year, which outlines funding proposals for planning, building, and operating the area’s transportation network over the next 40 years.  One of the funding measures proposed in the plan is a new new half-cent sales tax and an extension of the horizon year for the existing half-cent Measure R sales tax.  If approved, these measures could generate an estimated $120 billion to pay for transportation projects and programs over life of the LRTP.  

Following a series of community meetings in April, Metro will also host – starting tonight, Wednesday, May 4, and continuing through May 18 – a series of telephone town hall meetings to discuss the funding plans and collect public input. Residents in various areas across Los Angeles County will be called at random through an automated telephone system and invited to participate in the forums for their areas.  The two meetings focusing most closely on areas covered by the Buzz are:

Wednesday, May 4, 6:15 p.m.
Metro Board Chair Mark Ridley-Thomas, representing the Second Supervisorial district, will talk to residents in the cities of Carson, Compton, Culver City, Gardena, Hawthorne, Inglewood, Lawndale, Lynwood, the communities of South Los Angeles, Koreatown, and portions of West Los Angeles.

Monday, May 9, 6:15 p.m.
Stephanie Wiggins, Metro’s Deputy CEO, will talk to residents in the city of Los Angeles focusing on communities south of the Santa Monica Mountains including downtown and central Los Angeles, Hollywood, the Westside, South Los Angeles and the Harbor area.

More telephone meetings, targeting other communities, are scheduled for other evenings during the next two weeks.  If you’d like to make sure you’re on the call list for one of the local meetings, or are not available for the meeting time in your area but would like to participate in one of the other scheduled meetings, you can sign up at http://theplan.metro.net/town-hall-signup/  Then, on the day of the meeting, just call the toll-free meeting number (which is the same for all the scheduled meetings):  (888) 400- 1932.  (Spanish language participation/translation is available at (888) 400- 9342.)

To learn more about the Draft Expenditure Plan, including how to provide comments and suggestions (before, after or in addition to the telephone-based meetings):

• Use the online comment form at theplan.metro.net
• Send an email to [email protected]
• See facebook.com/losangelesmetro
• See @metrolosangeles at Twitter.com
• Search Facebook or Twitter using #MetroPlan
• Send US Mail to:
  

  The Plan
  Metro
  One Gateway Plaza
  Mail Stop: 99-13-1
  Los Angeles, CA 90012-2952

The comment deadline is May 20.

In June 2016, Metro will provide its Board of Directors with an updated recommendation including a full report on the public input that has been received.  The Board will then decide on the details of The Plan, including whether to place a measure on the upcoming November ballot.

Long Range Transportation Plan – Draft Potential Ballot Measure Expenditure Plan (Complete, 2.8MB)

Overview Presentation – Draft Potential Ballot Measure Expenditure Plan (6.3MB)