TITLE
Recommendation to request City Manager to work with City Attorney to draft a formal letter to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors requesting that they change their practice of requiring passengers to deboard at the end of the A Line.
DISCUSSION
Currently, the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) has a policy that orders all passengers on the A Line (formerly the Blue Line) to leave the train when it arrives at the end of the line here in Long Beach. Unfortunately, this policy contributes to people suffering from homelessness who often ride the trains to be forced off the train in Long Beach without a desire or intention to come to Long Beach. This Metro policy also creates an impact for our Quality of Life Officers who must provide a heightened presence at the Downtown A Line station interacting with individuals suffering from homelessness who came from other cities by riding the A Line, as opposed to actively working with our existing Long Beach homeless population.
Long Beach continues to see challenges due to homelessness. In our most recent Point in Time Homeless Count, the City of Long Beach saw a 62% increase, and with that a significant number of individuals were without a personal connection to Long Beach. Therefore, with these on-going challenges we face as a City, it would be appropriate to work directly with Metro to address the impact their policy has on our existing homeless population and the necessary staffing, and resources that we are forced to dedicate as a result. Long Beach should not be expected to shoulder an unfair amount of the region’s homeless population.
This matter has been reviewed by Recovery Budget Officer Dee Okam on September 25, 2022.
FISCAL IMPACT
This recommendation requests the City Manager to work with the City Attorney to draft a formal letter to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors requesting that they change their practice of requiring passengers to deboard at the end of the A Line. This recommendation is anticipated to have a minimum impact on staff hours beyond the budgeted scope of duties and is expected to have minimum impact on existing City Council priorities.
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve recommendation.
Respectfully Submitted,
SUZIE PRICE COUNCILWOMAN,
THIRD DISTRICT