Los Angeles is moving forward with a plan to repair streets, improve parks and promote various infrastructure projects in preparation for major sporting events coming to Southern California, officials said Wednesday.
With the 2026 FIFA World Cup, a Super Bowl and the 2028 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games on the horizon for the LA region, Mayor Karen Bass signed her ninth executive directive intended to streamline capital project delivery and invest in the city’s infrastructure. In part, the mayor’s directive will form a Capital Planning Steering Committee to ensure the work is done.
“This executive directive will create a path for delivering much-needed improvements to our streets, parks, and public spaces in communities throughout Los Angeles,” Bass said in a statement.
“I am directing the establishment of a multi-year investment plan to coordinate improvements and maintenance of our city’s infrastructure on display when we welcome the world for upcoming major international events, while leaving lasting benefits for decades to come,” she added.
The directive is intended to improve coordination between city departments and align projects with Measure HLA, which voters approved in March and requires the city to redesign streets to be safer for pedestrians and bicyclists.
The committee will consist of mayoral staff and members of relevant departments such as city planning, public works, contract administration, street lighting, water and power and recreation and parks.
City departments will also be required to report on maintenance programs, initiatives to decrease backlogs, and develop revenue-generating proposals. The committee will explore a range of projects such as roadway improvements to reduce traffic collisions and fatalities, improving parks and upgrading recreation and senior centers, enhancing bridges, storm water and sewer systems, and making streets safer by adding parkways, medians, street lights and seating.
“A piecemeal approach to fixing LA’s infrastructure problems isn’t going to work, and I’m grateful to Mayor Bass for helping elevate the need for a holistic approach,” City Councilman Bob Blumenfield, who chairs the council’s Budget, Finance and Innovation Committee, said in a statement. “Our constituents deserve better and it’s beyond time for bringing all our departments together to develop long-term strategies to get our infrastructure woes on a path to recovery.”
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The directive noted that the city lacks a comprehensive plan for maintaining and developing infrastructure in the public right-of-way, which can often lead to last-minute changes to projects and create cost overruns.
“Furthermore, the city is financing many of these projects in a year-over-year approach, often meaning that without dedicated and predictable sources of capital, project work stops and starts and takes much longer to complete, costing us more,” the mayor’s directive reads. “As a result, many communities suffer from deferred maintenance that degrade our streets, sidewalks, parks and aging facilities, and delay improvements that prevent injury and save lives.”