The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) Board of Directors has approved a $5.66-billion budget for fiscal year 2017 following a recent public hearing and other community input. The adopted budget represents over a two percent decrease from FY16 budget — even with the addition of new rail services, rising costs and new projects and programs.
Moving forward, people now have the opportunity to provide comments on the FY17 budget by visiting the Interactive Budget Tool at metro.net/finance. This interactive tool includes a short survey to guide future budgets, where the public can set their transportation priorities, allocate the dollars, and provide feedback on Metro’s budget.
The FY17 balanced budget is for the fiscal year that begins July 1 and runs through June 30, 2017. Metro’s budget includes a full year of operation for two new rail lines, the Gold Line Foothill Extension to Azusa and the Expo Line Extension to Santa Monica.
The budget calls for no fare changes or major service changes. Budget highlights include: $1.57 billion for bus and rail operations; $2 billion for various capital projects including major construction activity for the Regional Connector Project, the Crenshaw/LAX Line and the Purple Line Extension subway, and; $1.3 billion of funding for other transit agencies in L.A. County as well as local funding for the county’s 88 cities and unincorporated areas.
In FY17, the top budget priority for transit services will be to provide clean, safe and on-time buses and trains. Metro will focus resources on inspecting, cleaning, maintaining and performing corrective maintenance on vehicle fleets and transit stations to ensure they meet Metro and industry standards.
Metro’s State-of-Good-Repair (SGR) program continues to be a top priority. Efforts on this front will be focused on bus and rail system reliability and technology upgrades.
In FY17, over $28 million is dedicated to fund projects for first/last mile accessibility to transit and other pedestrian and biking programs. The first phase of the Metro Bike Share pilot program will be implemented this summer in downtown Los Angeles with over a thousand bikes at more than 65 stations.
Metro Adopts FY16 Budget
Metro continues the construction of one of the largest public works programs in America, thanks to Measure R and other funding partners. These transit and highway construction projects will improve mobility and increase vehicle capacity, allowing for smoother traffic flow, better system connectivity and more seamless travel for everyone in Los Angeles County.
Programs and projects within the FY17 budget include planning and/or environmental studies for the Airport Metro Connector, the Eastside Gold Line Transit Corridor Phase 2, the Sepulveda Pass Transit Corridor, the East San Fernando Valley Transit Corridor along Van Nuys Boulevard, the South Bay Metro Green Line Extension and the West Santa Ana Transit Corridor.
Highway projects and programs include sound walls throughout the county, added capacity for Interstate 5, Alameda Corridor East Grade Separations in the San Gabriel Valley and environmental, planning and engineering studies on the I-605 Hot Spots, the SR-710 North Study, the SR-710 South project and SR-138 capacity enhancements. Subregional projects include highway improvements in the Las Virgenes/Malibu area and ramp and interchange improvements projects for the I-405, I-110, I-105 and SR-91.
