Questions about specious cost estimates that were the basis of a ballot initiative to fund a new L.A. streetcar line were kept from voters, a Los Angeles Times investigation has revealed. The project may have to be delayed, shortened, or cancelled.
"When downtown voters agreed last winter to bring back the Los Angeles streetcar, the campaign pitch sounded simple: a $125-million trolley through the heart of the central city, with funding split between federal grants and a new property tax," writes Laura J. Nelson. "Inside City Hall, however, staff members had been quietly warning that the project's price tag was not a detailed estimate and could rise, a Times review of city memos, emails and meeting notes has found."
A "back-of-the-envelope" estimate based on the cost-per-mile construction of Portland's streetcar and a utility relocation estimate that was off of the worst case scenario by $190 million helped contribute to the erroneous estimates. But concerns raised by city staff over potential additional costs before detailed estimates were produced were kept under wraps.
"With no clear way to close what could be a $200-million funding gap, the fear now at City Hall is that the streetcar's shot at a crucial federal grant is in jeopardy, potentially delaying construction by several years."
Read the full story: City Hall staff kept quiet on L.A. streetcar red flags
L.A. Officials to Look at Possibility of Car-Free Downtown Broadway
Los Angeles may follow in San Francisco’s footsteps by banning cars along a stretch of a downtown thoroughfare.
Mind the Gap: Funding Hole Could Halt Downtown L.A. Streetcar Plans
When voters in downtown L.A. approved a special taxing district to help fund a new $125 million streetcar line, one small detail was left out of project cost estimates - $166 million in potential utility work. Might this gap kill the project?
L.A. Streetcar Gets Go-Ahead from Voters
Voters in downtown Los Angeles have overwhelmingly approved a special property tax to help fund a $125 million streetcar. The results of the special vote-by-mail election were reported last night.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Los Angeles just elected an urban planner as its mayor
Transportation analysts are optimistic that Raman will be more aggressive in addressing transit issues than Bass.
Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax survives legal challenge
A panel of judges found that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate injury as a result of New York City's implementation of the tax.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority