The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday, Nov. 14 approved a motion seeking to address the challenges to public safety and economic impacts to local business caused by the fire that damaged and closed a stretch of the Santa Monica (10) Freeway downtown.
Council members unanimously approved the item after Councilman Kevin de León introduced it during Tuesday’s council meeting pursuant to Rule 23, which allows council members to introduce and pass a motion on the same day.
“The motion introduced today underscores my commitment to address the diverse challenges posed by the devastating freeway fire,” said de León, who represents the 14th District, which encompasses several downtown L.A. neighborhoods.
“Tens of thousands of families and businesses in my district are bearing the brunt of this fire, whether they work near the I-10 freeway or live in the neighboring community of Boyle Heights,” he continued. “It’s necessary that we take a holistic approach to address and monitor the ongoing impacts of public safety, traffic, air quality and economic fallout.”
The motion instructs the Bureau of Street Services to evaluate the existing pavement condition on all streets impacted by detoured freeway traffic to establish a baseline condition, as well as to monitor the streets throughout the closure to seek future reimbursement for repairs from the state or federal government.
Department of Transportation staff will track the impacts on local streets such as travel time, transit usage, and safety. Staff will then provide a report with recommendations on needed physical improvements, signage, local closures or other measures necessary to facilitate effective traffic flow and minimize cut-through traffic in the community.
The Bureau of Street Lighting was instructed to work with the South Coast Air Quality Management District to install additional air quality monitoring devices along the detour routes to document any changes in local air quality and identify rapid mitigation measures to reduce the effects of increased air pollution.
Lastly, the Economic and Workforce Development Department will be tasked will conducting outreach to local business who may have been directly or indirectly affected by the fire and street detours.
Prior to the vote, Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez said the motion was timely.
“So often we look at the immediate impacts to the drivers that use the 10 freeway, and we don’t think about these alternate routes are affecting the neighborhoods, but more importantly, contributing to the accelerated deterioration of the infrastructure in these neighborhoods,” Rodriguez said.
She noted that de León’s motion represents an opportunity to ensure that repairs are comprehensive and that the city is addressing all of the needs of individuals who are impacted by freeway fire.
“Whether it’s the 10 freeway, the East L.A. interchange, or in the northeast San Fernando Valley, we need to really think about the broader implications are of circumstances like this and how vulnerable communities are always bearing the brunt of the impacts associated with mitigation,” Rodriguez said.
