Committee OKs Study Examining Plan to Fix L.A. City Streets

Written by City News Service

The City Council's Public Works and Gang Reduction Committee approved a comprehensive study this week that backs away from an initial proposal in January by two council members to take out a $3 billion bond for repairing city streets.

The "Save Our Streets LA" plan would address 8,700 miles of street lanes, including some streets that are so bad the city has given up on fixing them. The proposed review of this plan still requires approval by the full council to move forward.

Councilmen Joe Buscaino and Mitchell Englander drew criticism earlier this year for proposing to place a $3 billion bond measure on the May ballot. They shifted gears and decided to do a "fact-finding mission," shopping the street repair idea at six public meetings held across the city, Buscaino said Wednesday.

The proposed study would ask city officials to look at two dozen instructions suggested at those meetings.

The $3 billion bond proposal could still be part of the repair plan, but the study approved Wednesday asks city officials to find other ways of funding the project beyond just asking taxpayers to foot the bill, including using vehicle license and gasoline fees or grants.

The review, if approved, would be due back in 45 days and would also include identification of city streets rated in the worst condition, a long term maintenance plan and a review of whether $3 billion would be sufficient to fix all of Los Angeles' worn out, pothole-filled streets.

Click here to view a recently published assessment from the Department of Public Works that shows the grades for Brentwood's streets.

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