That comes to almost $7.2 billion for transit versus $634 million in funding for highway projects. County and $273 million for regional rail. Metro’s proposed budget includes $2.3 billion for transit expansion, almost $2.2 billion for transit operations, $506 million for modernizing transit and keeping it in a state of good repair, about $1.9 billion in funding for cities and other transit agencies in L.A. How does funding for our highway program compare to our proposed spending on transit?
board meeting, so Streetsblog will help out by clarifying the misleading and false statements in today’s post at The Source. The Metro budget vote is due to take place at tomorrow’s 10 a.m. Why didn’t The Source take a closer look at the Highway budget earlier – say, while the budget was still being developed? Perhaps in March, when Metro staff announced that the Highway budget was due to increase by thirty percent? It sure appears that Metro is following the outdated “decide, announce, and defend” model of public engagement here. The Source’s timing does raise the question of why – after Metro’s so-called “Early, Expanded, and Enhanced Public Engagement” in an “equity focused” “Listen and Learn” budget process (which many Metro staff repeatedly praise themselves about) – why is today the day to look closer at the $634 million Highway Program budget? Why now, just one day before the budget goes before the Metro board for an approval vote? Today’s The Source post, “ A closer look at highway spending in Metro’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2023,” appears to be Metro’s attempt to deflect criticisms raised by livability advocates, including Streets for All, Investing in Place, and the Alliance for Community Transit (ACT-LA). Metro’s communications team has kicked into high gear to churn out gaslighting spin pieces that attempt to paint a happy face on the agency’s freeway-flush, transit-austerity proposed FY23 budget.
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