If you read the Los Angeles Times’ recent editorial, “Is LA Getting Serious About Safer Streets?”, you probably left with more questions than answers.
That’s because Los Angeles’ public works and transportation systems are complex, fragmented, and often difficult to understand, even for people who spend their careers working on them.
Two efforts are currently moving forward:
- A grassroots-led ballot measure that would require implementation of portions of Mobility Plan 2035 when major street improvements occur.
- A City Council motion intended to advance many of the same goals through a broader policy framework.
Both efforts reflect a growing recognition that Los Angeles needs safer streets and a better system for delivering public infrastructure.
At Investing in Place, we’re particularly interested in what sits beneath both proposals: how Los Angeles plans, prioritizes, funds, and coordinates investments in the public right-of-way.
The Ballot Measure
The proposed ballot measure would require the City to implement elements of Mobility Plan 2035—including portions of the Bicycle Enhanced Network, Transit Priority Corridors, and Pedestrian Districts—when major street work occurs.
The Mobility Plan provides an important vision for the future of Los Angeles. However, many of its networks remain conceptual and do not include project-level designs, implementation plans, funding strategies, or prioritization frameworks.
The Council Motion
The City Council motion takes a broader approach.
In addition to implementing Mobility Plan priorities, it calls for greater coordination across departments and consideration of improvements such as sidewalks, bus shelters, crosswalks, accessibility upgrades, and stormwater infrastructure.
The motion recognizes that the public right-of-way serves many purposes and that improving streets requires coordination across multiple agencies and programs.
Why This Matters
The public right-of-way is more than pavement.
It includes sidewalks, access ramps, street trees, bus stops, lighting, stormwater infrastructure, and the many elements that make streets safe, accessible, and welcoming.
Improving one part of the system without considering the others can limit the benefits communities receive.
That is why Investing in Place continues to advocate for a comprehensive Capital Infrastructure Plan (CIP).
A CIP would help Los Angeles:
- Coordinate investments across departments.
- Align projects with long-term goals.
- Establish clear priorities and tradeoffs.
- Improve transparency and public accountability.
- Better connect infrastructure spending to community outcomes.
Questions We’re Watching
As these discussions move forward, several questions remain:
- What is Los Angeles’ long-term vision for its public right-of-way?
- How can the City improve coordination among the many departments and agencies responsible for streets, sidewalks, transportation, and public works?
- How are infrastructure priorities established and communicated to the public?
- How can community engagement be meaningful and inclusive?
- How will equity guide future infrastructure investments?
These are not just transportation questions.
They are questions about how Los Angeles governs, funds, and manages public infrastructure.
The decisions made today will shape the City’s streets, sidewalks, and public spaces for years to come.
Investing in Place will continue to follow these discussions closely and advocate for a more coordinated, transparent, and equitable approach to infrastructure investment.
