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MEETING NOTES Subject: Crenshaw/LAX Community Leadership Council (CLC) Safety POD Meeting Date: Monday, Oct. 14, 2013; 10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Location: Crenshaw/LAX Project Office 3699 Crenshaw Bl Los Angeles, CA 90016 Meeting Participants Approximately 22 people were in attendance including: Name Organization Name Organization Michael Thomas LA County Fire Mary Darks CLC Member Department/Metro Liaison Nick Duvally LA County Fire Department Rev. Jackie CLC Member Russell Officer. Patricia Los Angeles Police Dept. Denny Schneider CLC Member Luevanos Sgt. Avedembery Los Angeles Police Dept. Theodore CLC Member Thomas, Sr. James Carver El Segundo Fire Department Abdul Zohbi Metro Dep. K. Johnson Los Sheriff Dept. TSB Barbara Burns Metro Johnnie Raines Neighborhood Council West Kinya Claiborne Metro Area Connye Thomas Employment Development J.C. Lacey Metro Department C.M. Bryant PMHCC Thomas Eng Metro Commander Metro Sheriff Matt Gallagher Metro Ronene M. Anda Department/CLC Member Father. Marcos CLC Safety POD – Co- Donald Taylor The Divine Enterprise GGonzalez Moderator Meeting Summary: The Crenshaw/LAX Community Leadership Council (CLC) Safety POD meeting was held on Monday, October 14, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. at the Crenshaw/LAX Project Field Office in Los Angeles, CA. The agenda for the meeting is outlined below. (CLC) ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT POD MEETING NOTES CLC Economic Development POD Meeting October 14, 2013 Page 2 I. Welcome & Call to Order (5 min) Father Marcos Gonzalez, Inglewood Safety POD, Co-Moderator II. Self-Introductions of all Attendees (5 mins) Father Marcos Gonzalez III. Review of Past Meeting Notes (15 mins) Presentations IV. Metro’s Rail Safety Month Presentation Barbara Burns, Metro, Director of Community (20 mins) Relations & Commander Ronene M. Anda, Metro Sheriff Department V. Introduction of Metro Fire Life Safety Thomas Eng, Metro, Director of Corporate Safety Certification Process (20 mins) Discussion Items VI. Discussion Led by Inglewood Safety Co- Father Marcos Gonzalez Moderator (10 min) VII. Next Meeting Date: October 14, 2013 Adjournment I. Welcome & Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 10:09 a.m. by CLC Economic Development Co-Moderator Father Marcos Gonzalez. II. Metro Rail Safety Month Presentation Barbara Burns, Metro, Director of Transit Safety Programs and Commander Ronene M. Anda, Metro, Sheriff Department gave a presentation about Metro’s Rail Safety Month efforts. September was National Rail Safety Month. In recognition of the month, Metro held a joint kick off press event with Metrolink and Amtrak on September 6, 2013. Metro launched a safety awareness campaign, which consisted of advertisements at stations, on trains and on ramps. Metro is considering making ramp signs used during the awareness campaign permanent on the Blue Line. Additionally, Metro placed web banners on metro.net and ran radio ads on Power 106, KJLH and KDAY. (CLC) ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT POD MEETING NOTES CLC Economic Development POD Meeting October 14, 2013 Page 3 Metro held a Blue Line press event held on September 23, 2013 that was focused on Suicide Prevention and distributed door hangers about rail safety. There was a question about how much money has been spent on additional signage and why the signage has not always been at stations and on trains. Metro advised that signage was put up in September because there is a special push to promote safety during Rail Safety Month. Additionally, Metro’s Transit Safety Education staff performs rail safety trainings to the community on year round. About 75% of accidents on the Blue Line are suicide. Demographics of the suicides show that most of the suicides committed are by 25-35 year old males. Safety training for each rail line begins one year before the line is in operation. Trainings for the Crenshaw/LAX Transit Project are slated to begin in 2018 and will be targeted towards residents along the rail line within a 1.5 mile radius of the alignment. Regarding safety for the Blue Line, Commander Anda said the LA County Sheriff Department has a zero tolerance policy for cars on vehicle crossings, giving drivers who violate rail crossings $500 citations. The LA County Sheriff Department has formed two mental evaluation teams. Two more teams are being formed. The teams include deputies and mental health/evaluation professionals from the Department of Public Health who work together to address the issues of homeless encampments and suicides along the Blue Line. The Sheriff Department has conducted trainings for Metro and their department staff to recognize signs of criminal activity or someone trying to commit suicide. They are encouraging people to take action when they notice suspicious behavior. There was a concern about the Flower and 18th intersection. Metro has initiated adding a left hand turn signal on that intersection. There was a question about how accidents compare from the intersections along rail lines where there are safety gates versus where there are no safety gates. The number of accidents is no greater in either scenario. III. Introduction of Fire/Life Safety Certification Process Thomas Eng, Director Corporate Safety at Metro gave presentation about the Metro Fire Life Safety Certification Process, which explains how Fire/Life Safety is administered on the rail lines and how it will be on the Crenshaw line. Topics included: Fire/Life Safety Overview and Security Oversight, Guideline Documents, Fire/Life Safety Features, Tunnel Safety, Rail Operations Control, Emergency Ventilation Testing, First Response familiarization, First Response drills, Certificate of Occupancy Metro has a Fire/Life Safety and Security Committee that is responsible for seeing that fire/life safety requirements are in compliance. The committee has representation from Metro, the Design- Builder, Fire Department, Law Enforcement, and the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). The Los Angeles County Fire Department assigns fire chiefs as liaisons to Metro. Battalion Chief Michael Thomas is serving as the current liaison. Metro has a Rail Operations Center (ROC); where there is 24/7 service monitoring of all lines. ROC staff only monitor for service, not specifically for suicides, criminal activity, etc. They are able to receive fire alarms and calls and then zoom into where issues are happening. For every rail line, Fire Services issues a Certificate of Occupancy upon verification of FLS requirements. Without this document, Metro cannot move forward with putting the rail in operation. There are ‘Guiding Documents’ that the Fire/Life Safety and Security Committee uses to ensure the light rails line are in compliance including the NFPA 130 Standard for Fixed Guideway (CLC) ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT POD MEETING NOTES CLC Economic Development POD Meeting October 14, 2013 Page 4 Transit and Passenger Rail Systems and Metro Fire/Life Safety Design Criteria. Other documents include CPUC General Orders and contract documents. When a line is in the design process, the design-builder must meet the standards in these documents. If the design builder would like to build the line in outside of the standards, they must go through the Deviation Review Process where they will have to demonstrate how the violation of the criteria is being adjusted and how they can justify the deviation from the standards. The presented plans can be approved or disapproved based on whether or not the design builder has satisfactory justification. Community members can address their concerns for safety during the Environmental Impact Review (EIR) phase of the project. EIR is the phase when the planning is just beginning. Because the design is not finalized during this period, the public will not get to see all of the plans before addressing concerns. Fire/Life Safety Features, which Metro is required to provide all of this on all rail lines, include: non-combustible construction, emergency ventilation in subway, emergency lighting, emergency egress, emergency access, emergency back-up power, fire detection and suppression and communications. There were concerns about whether or not travelers will be able to use their cell phones during emergencies, and in tunnels, when the Crenshaw/LAX Transit Project is in operation. Metro is still in discussion about the topic and has had meetings with cell phone providers. Thomas Eng noted that he could report back about the concern when decisions have been made. Tunnel Features, which Metro is required to provide this in tunnels, include: walkways, cross- passages, wet standpipe, e-lighting and e-ventilation. Before rail lines are in operation, Metro runs Emergency Ventilation Testing, where smoke machines fill up the station and the ventilation system is turned on to demonstrate whether or not the system will remove the contaminated air and provide fresh air at an efficient rate. There was a concern about if substances can be recognized before the ventilation system is turned on and the contaminated air is released onto the street. The substances are not tested before released through the vent shafts. When the air reaches the street it is diluted. Metro’s procedure during emergencies that involve contaminated air is to ventilate as soon as possible. Before rail lines are in operation, there is First Responder Familiarization that includes light rail vehicle training. Training is also provided to all the fire departments that serve the rail line. Metro runs emergency drills on each light rail line 4-5 times per year, to coordinate response protocols between all emergency response teams and departments. After each emergency drill, there is a debriefing to discuss what went well and what could have been improved during the drills. A Rail On-Scene Coordinator is assigned from Metro, serving as a liaison between Metro and first response agencies. Drills are not filmed by Metro. Sometimes other agencies will film the drills for their internal training purposes. Upon verification of Fire/Life Safety requirements, Fire Services issues Metro a Certificate of Occupancy that is required before Metro can put a rail line into operation.