Four years ago, Boyle Heights and Skid Row had something to celebrate: state grants to build new sidewalks and protected bike lanes.<\/p>\n
But now, more than $100 million from the state for the transportation projects in some of the neediest parts of Los Angeles is in jeopardy because city officials say they don\u2019t have enough staff to complete the projects.<\/p>\n
The issue is part of the continuing fallout from a $1-billion budget shortfall<\/a> the city faced last year. Officials avoided mass layoffs but closed the gap with budget cuts to city departments, including the Bureau of Engineering, Department of Transportation, Bureau of Street Lighting and Bureau of Street Services. Those cuts included eliminating open positions, resulting in smaller staffs. <\/p>\n \u201cTo know that the funding is there and that we have to give it back because the city says it can\u2019t find the bodies to do the work is a scandal,\u201d said Estela Lopez, executive director for the L.A. Downtown Industrial District Business Improvement District. She has long advocated for more resources on Skid Row, including improved accessibility for pedestrians. <\/p>\n \u201cIt would be transformative in a way that wasn\u2019t just in spirit,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n On Monday, the Bureau of Street Services confirmed that it will apply with the state for a two-year extension to allow more time to begin the transportation projects in Boyle Heights, Skid Row and Wilmington. <\/p>\n The move came after L.A. City Councilmembers Ysabel Jurado and Tim McOsker introduced a motion to cancel the state funds, citing \u201cstaffing, funding, and implementation constraints.\u201d Jurado said that plan is \u201cnow on hold.\u201d McOsker, whose district includes the Wilmington project, also confirmed his support for an extension.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter hearing directly from my constituents, I urged the Bureau of Street Services to explore every option to keep these projects moving forward,\u201d Jurado said in a statement this week.<\/p>\n The Boyle Heights project<\/a> would enhance bike lanes and pedestrian-level lighting, as well as extend street curbs and plant more than 300 shade trees. On Skid Row<\/a>, existing bike and pedestrian pathways would be connected through downtown L.A. to schools, health facilities and job centers. In Wilmington<\/a>, near the busiest port in the country, crumbling sidewalks would be fixed and a new traffic signal and high-visibility crosswalks would be added.<\/p>\n The city must contribute about $23 million in matching funds.<\/p>\n Jurado, whose district includes Boyle Heights and Skid Row, said the two areas \u201chave waited too long for these investments for them to slip away.\u201d Her predecessor, Kevin de Le\u00f3n, and his staff pitched the projects and spent about $250,000 in discretionary funds to hire consultants to put together the applications for both projects. <\/p>\n Dan Halden, director of external relations for the Bureau of Street Services, said in a statement that the agency acknowledges the challenges ahead, including resources, cost and timeliness, and would work to identify a path forward.<\/p>\n De Le\u00f3n said in an interview this week that now is not the time for the city to return state dollars. <\/p>\n \u201cIt would be at best, political malpractice, at worst, criminal, if the city made the decision to return the money in a time when we need every imaginable dollar for the well-being of Angelenos,\u201d De Le\u00f3n said. \u201cThis is not the moment to return dollars back to the state government, especially for historically under-served and under-invested communities.\u201d <\/p>\n