Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a large, county-wide, authority. It affects cycling with its funding policies in two major ways.
First, the MTA spends money creating planning documents, surveys, etc. that allow the MTA itself or entities within Los Angeles County to apply for funds for bicycle projects. That is, the MTA gets paperwork ready for local entities to apply for money. The planning documents are produced in the Bikeway Planning (or Metro Bike Program) section of the MTA. Lynne Goldsmith runs the Metro Bike Program, and is part of the Transportation Development and Implementation (TDI) department.
Second, the MTA distributes funds for transportation projects. The MTA's policies prevent bicycle projects from being funded. Some big sources of general transportation funding that the MTA keeps from bicycle projects are: Proposition A and Proposition C Local Return sales tax dollars; and money available as part of the Transportation Improvement Program Call for Projects. This is a biennial process for allocating selected local, state, and federal transportation funds to cities (and other agencies) in Los Angeles County. The selection criteria for the CFP emphasise brick and mortar or innovative technologies. They exclude bicycle encouragement or education projects which are considered "marketing". Both of these sources of funding are doled out using the Transportation Development and Implementation unit.
Read more about this topic: Bicycle Transportation Planning In Los Angeles
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