Los Angeles mayor says city has a new approach to infrastructure

Los Angeles mayor's office

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass this week presented what she said is the city's first ever comprehensive infrastructure capital plan.

The announcement comes after Bass unveiled plans when she presented her budget in April to expand the city's budgeting process to a multi-year system. 

The two efforts will go hand-in-hand Bass, told reporters during a press conference on Monday in City Hall.

"I became mayor to change Los Angeles and tackle the longstanding challenges that past leaders avoided," Bass said. "Starting with the release of my infrastructure program, Los Angeles will now strategically plan and invest in the infrastructure that supports every Angeleno's quality of life."

Bass, 72, described the city's infrastructure as "crumbling," and said Los Angeles did not look like that when she was a girl growing up in the city. She said she aims to begin efforts to restore its luster ahead of the city hosting the 2028 Olympics.

The mayor's unveiling came ahead of two debates in a heated mayoral race.

A UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs poll said 40% of surveyed voters were undecided in the mayor's race as of April 4.

If no candidate wins a majority in the June 2 primary, the top two vote-getters will face off in November to determine who will lead the nation's second-most populous city.

Bass, nearing the end of her first term, led the field with 25% support, followed by conservative television personality Spencer Pratt at 11% and Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman at 9%, according to the poll of likely L.A. primary voters.

Also on the ballot are tech entrepreneur Adam Miller and housing activist Rae Huang, who each received 3%. A total of 14 candidates are vying for the city's top office.

"It is unusual for 40% of likely voters to be unsure of their choice just two months before an LA mayoralty election," said Zev Yaroslavsky, director of the Los Angeles Initiative at UCLA Luskin, who served for decades as an elected leader in Los Angeles city and county.

Bass was joined by three City Council members as she announced the launch of the program at Monday's press conference, outlined in a 112-page document, which she said her staff began research on two years ago.

Most large cities have CIPs, but LA, as noted by the mayor and council members, has not had one. The city has historically operated without a formal, comprehensive, multi-year plan, resulting in backlogged repairs.

The City Administrative Officer produces an annual Capital and Technology Improvement Plan but it is part of what the mayor's CIP document calls a "fragmented and disjointed" approach to capital planning that scatters information through multiple reports and department plans. "The real world effect of this fragmentation has meant that Los Angeles has been underfunding maintenance and capital projects for its streets, parks, buildings and facilities," the new CIP document said.

The mayor's proposal brings 14 infrastructure-focused city departments and bureaus together to create one unified capital infrastructure plan for the city, she said. 

Creating a CIP for LA is one of five major goals communicated in Bass's executive directive 9, released in October 2024.

Tapping multiple voter-approved tax measures, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority has spent the past two decades building out the county's rail and subway system and has several more projects underway to expand the system prior to the city hosting the 2028 Olympic Games.

Bass, who as Los Angeles mayor has a seat on the L.A. Metro board, said she envisions the city's CIP functioning the same way L.A. Metro's does. The mass transit system operates off a 20-year CIP plan, which has enabled it to benefit from matching federal funds.

When asked by reporters at the capital plan announcement Monday if her plan could include going to voters with a bond measure in November, Bass said yes.

The capital initiative marks a significant departure from the city's decades-long practice of managing infrastructure on an emergency, siloed basis, said Bass, who described the current system as broken.

The new multi-year CIP is designed to coordinate and fund long-term strategic projects for critical public assets, including roads, sidewalks, parks and public buildings. Its adoption would finally bring Los Angeles "up to par with other major cities," according to Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who acknowledged the city's vast infrastructure load, which includes over 7,500 miles of streets.

For years, the lack of a formal, multi-year plan has contributed to systemic underfunding, deteriorating infrastructure, and massive repair backlogs, said Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, chair of the public works committee, who emphasized the daily impact this has had on Angelenos. She called the city's previous status as the only major U.S. city without a CIP "unacceptable."

The city doesn't fully fund even the existing bare-bones capital plan; its financial policies recommend allocating 1.5% of general fund revenue for capital and infrastructure, but its current budget only allocates 1.11%, according to the CAO's most recent capital improvement plan.

The new program seeks to combat the pervasive issue of "short-termism," where city leaders focus narrowly on the upcoming annual budget rather than committing to multi-decade planning. Bass is attempting to streamline project delivery and ensure long-term accountability.

The CIP is not just about maintenance; it is also forward-looking. As Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky noted, the plan must move beyond infrastructure designed for a "different Los Angeles, one built around cars first."

The new approach prioritizes building streets that are safer, cooler, more accessible, and better connected to modern community needs, aligning with contemporary urban planning trends toward sustainability, equity and resilience.

The CIP lays out a comprehensive roadmap, including 10 recommendations for reforming city processes and the city charter itself. It emphasizes data-based decision-making to determine short and long-term needs, promising greater transparency in how public funds are spent.

Councilmember Tim McOsker highlighted the need for consistency, saying the CIP "would deliver a framework on the agreed priorities for maintenance and new construction, how we are going to approach the work, and how we will hold city hall decision-makers and budgets accountable over time."

The program strategically aligns with national funding opportunities, a key practice in other major cities like Seattle and Denver, who were able to take advantage of the five-year Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Bass said.

A significant component of the plans includes 29 Olympic and Paralympic legacy capital projects, designed to both prepare the city for the 2028 Games and leave lasting community investments, Bass said. Sixteen of those projects are currently funded in the mayor's proposed fiscal year 2026-27 budget.

Jessica Meaney, executive director of Investing in Place, an organization that advocates for better public infrastructure in Los Angeles, lauded the effort, calling it an "important step toward building the systems we need to plan for and take care of our sidewalks, streets and parks over time."

The administration stressed that the CIP will improve the quality of life for Angelenos by better delivering the infrastructure that residents "deserve, not just what elected officials or special interests want," Bass said. 

City departments are expected to be better equipped to coordinate and deliver essential services under the new multi-year planning framework.