Los Angeles appears poised to lose in its attempt to keep $100 million in state grant funding for transportation projects in some of the neediest neighborhoods after a state commission declined to hear the city\u2019s appeal for an extension.<\/p>\n
The state grants came with deadlines for work to be completed, which city officials have said they were unable to meet because of budget and staffing cuts in the city\u2019s engineering<\/a>, transportation and other departments. City officials said they sought an extension, which the state transportation commission didn\u2019t consider at its meeting this month.<\/p>\n Mayor Karen Bass\u2019 office said the problem dates back to before her election in 2022. <\/p>\n \u201cThis issue is emblematic of the failed and broken systems that Mayor Bass inherited and is fixing with comprehensive solutions like her Capital Infrastructure Program (CIP),\u201d her office said. \u201cOnce fully implemented, Mayor Bass\u2019 CIP will enable Los Angeles to properly plan, track, fund and deliver on multi-year projects like Active Transportation Projects with greater accountability, clarity, and purpose.\u201d <\/p>\n California Transportation Commission officials didn\u2019t immediately respond to requests for comment on the denial of the extension, which was reported earlier by LAist.<\/p>\n The grant money would have funded projects in Boyle Heights, the Skid Row area of downtown Los Angeles and Wilmington.<\/p>\n \u201cOpportunities like this come once in a generation,\u201d said former City Councilmember Kevin De Leon, who helped secure the funding when he was on the council. \u201cTo lose that funding because deadlines were missed and shortage of staffing is nothing short of political malpractice.\u201d <\/p>\n State Assemblymember Mark Gonz\u00e1lez (D-Los Angeles), said he has been working with the state and the city in hopes of restoring the grant funding.<\/p>\n \u201cOver the last couple of months, I have spent countless hours coordinating with the city and the CTC, fighting to find ways to let the City keep the money,\u201d he said in a statement on Thursday. \u201cI have heard that the extension was not approved, and that\u2019s extremely frustrating. Without this extension, critical infrastructure will be even further delayed.\u201d <\/p>\n Gonzalez said he would try and see \u201cif there is a path forward for the CTC to restore these funds.\u201d<\/p>\n City Councilmember Ysabel Jurado, whose district includes the Boyle Heights and Skid Row projects, said she also hopes to see funding restored for the projects.<\/p>\n \u201cThis decision is still new, and our office is taking the time to fully understand what it means for each project, the affected communities, and the options still available,\u201d Jurado said in a statement. \u201cBoyle Heights and Skid Row have waited far too long for safer, more accessible streets, and the residents who organized for these improvements deserve more than a setback and a closed door.\u201d <\/p>\n The project in Boyle Heights<\/a> would enhance bike lanes and pedestrian-level lighting and improve shading by planting more than 300 shade trees.<\/p>\n In Skid Row,<\/a> the funding would have funded an effort to connect existing bike and pedestrian pathways through downtown L.A. to schools, health facilities and job centers. <\/p>\n