Metro is about to quietly end future funding for open street events. You can stop it, but only if you act by Wednesday, July 22, at 5pm.<\/p>\n
Why it matters:<\/p>\n
Open street events are for everyone. Cutting funding doesn\u2019t just put organizations like CicLAvia and open streets programs like ActiveSGV\u2019s 626 Golden Streets\/Active Streets at real risk. It erases opportunities for communities that don\u2019t otherwise get this kind of social infrastructure investment.<\/p>\n
What happened:<\/p>\n
Last week, Metro\u2019s Planning and Programming Committee voted 4-1 to approve a report that guts open street events. Supervisor Horvath cast the lone dissenting vote.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
What the report does:<\/p>\n
Leaves large-scale open street events unfunded through the start of the 2028 Olympics (leaving all of 2027 and the first half of 2028 unfunded)Delays any decision on a permanent program until after the 2028 OlympicsPuts open street organizations like CicLAvia and open streets programs like ActiveSGV\u2019s 626 Golden Streets\/Active Streets at real risk<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
The report is now headed to the full Metro Board meeting for a final vote on Thursday, July 23, at 10am. It is on the consent agenda as item #13 <\/a>on page 14.\u00a0This means it gets approved automatically, with zero discussion\u2014unless a Board member pulls it. We need to make them pull it.<\/p>\n The bigger picture:<\/p>\n Metro spent over a decade building this movement; turning a bold experiment into a proven regional model that\u2019s gotten hundreds of thousands of people onto transit, bikes, and their own two feet.\u00a0<\/p>\n Walking away now doesn\u2019t just cut a program. It walks back one of Metro\u2019s best tools for building a transit-riding, multi-modal region, right as the world\u2019s eyes turn to LA for the Olympics.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n TAKE ACTION NOW<\/p>\n Submit written comments via email by 5pm Wednesday, July 22, and \/ or give public testimony in-person or via phone at 10am Thursday, July 23.<\/p>\n Tell the Board:<\/p>\n Fund open street events through 2027 and into 2028, don\u2019t push the decision down the road.Find a creative solution now, don\u2019t shut down the conversation for 2+ years until after the Olympics.Protect the 4+ mile, multi-neighborhood format that makes these events impactful.Make the open street events program permanent, not a grant line fighting for survival every cycle.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n We\u2019ve written an example for you to easily copy and paste.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n SUBMIT WRITTEN COMMENT BY 5PM WEDNESDAY, JULY 22\u00a0<\/p>\n