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≡ METRO BOARD MEETING ≡
The Thursday morning meeting of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors was dominated by more than two hours of yelling, screaming and complaints about a long-running proposal to build a “gondola” from Union Station in downtown Los Angeles to Dodger Stadium, hotly opposed by the community close to the project and the Los Angeles City Council.
Despite the protests, the item concerning the project was approved as part of a package of items for which public comment had already been heard.
There were other items on the agenda, including three which relate, at least in part, to the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles.
(1) The Board approved, on a 10-0 voice vote, an allocation of $10 million for “Open and Slow Streets” events – programs which eliminate or greatly restrict private auto traffic on designated streets – for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
This concept has been in place since 2014, the sixth (for 2026) and seventh (2028) editions of the program were up for funding specific to the FIFA World Cup or the 2028 Games:
● The events “[m]ust celebrate the 2026 FIFA World Cup or the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games” and “must include arts, culture, or recreation connections.”
● A total of 49 applications were received, requesting $18.5 million in total.
● Funding was recommended for 29 events, with six first-time awardees. The remaining 16 eligible events were placed on a waitlist if future funding becomes available; there were four ineligible submissions.
● Of the 29 which received funding, 28 were granted from $70,000 to $500,000, with one approved for $1.033 million, in the Figueroa Street area in downtown Los Angeles, with multiple venues along the route.
● The 2026 FIFA World Cup sites (13): Bell, Inglewood, Long Beach, Los Angeles (3), Los Angeles County (2), Pasadena, Pico Rivera, Santa Monica, Torrance, and West Hollywood.
● The 2028 Games sites include 16 in all, with 14 for the Olympic Games in Long Beach, Los Angeles (4), Pasadena, Pico Rivera, Pomona, Santa Monica, Santa Clarita, Torrance and three in Los Angeles County, serving multiple communities, plus a Paralympic Games-only program in Los Angeles and a program for both Games in Inglewood.
No funding for events in 2027 is planned; only 2026 and 2028.
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(2) A concept for a water taxi from San Pedro to Long Beach during the Games was reviewed, after a report showed that the project was feasible, but with unsure funding and ride times that could be twice as long as using an existing bus line.
Metro Board member Janice Hahn, a longtime representative of the San Pedro area as an L.A. City Council member, Congressional Representative and now a Los Angeles County Supervisor since 2016, asked for the feasibility study and enthusiastically promoted the concept. It requires no funding yet, but could cost up to $1.344 million to operate per the study.
The motion was to have the Metro staff “[d]evelop and issue an industry engagement process (i.e. reverse pitch) to identify private and public operator interest, capabilities, and partnership opportunities to deliver a water-taxi service between San Pedro and Long Beach during the 2028 Games” and was approved by a 10-0 vote.
Whether it actually comes to fruition is in the future; a report back is due in six months.
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(3) Metro’s government relations team also noted a continuing pitch for Federal funding for Metro costs for its planned 2028 transportation program of $3.2 billion. The updated description of the 2026 effort included:
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“In coordination with key stakeholders, Metro will continue to work with officials in the White House, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and Congress to promote and advance the opportunity for the federal government to fund the many mobility enhancing projects being built and being planned across Los Angeles County by our agency and our local, regional and state partners.
“Specifically, Metro is seeking to have funds for a range of mobility projects and transit services directly related to the Games included in the President’s Fiscal Year 2027 Budget.”
Both the Biden and Trump Administrations have rejected any large-scale funding for Metro related to the 2028 Games so far.
In the State government report, it was confirmed that Assembly Bill 1237 for a $5 surcharge to support Metro on tickets sold for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, introduced by Tina McKinnor (D-Los Angeles County), is dead.
McKinnor has agreed to try for a new bill related to the 2028 Games to try and get a ticket surcharge added. Time is short already: the LA28 organizers have indicated that it will begin ticket sales as early as April of 2026.
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