LOS ANGELES (KNX) — Los Angeles City Councilmember Bob Blumenfield announced Wednesday he would be allocating $100,000 from his own district's discretionary fund to combat street racing.
The allocation, which needs to be approved by a full council, will pay L.A. police overtime to support specialized enforcement against the practice. Members were expected to vote on it on Tuesday.
"I have constituents who are often woken up in the middle of the night by a half dozen cars going three times the speed limit, screeching around turns in what were recently quiet neighborhoods. This isn't just a quality of life issue, people are dying and this is beyond unacceptable," Blumenfield said in a statement Wednesday.
The councilmember cited a report by The Los Angeles Times published in October that showed that street races and so-called "street takeovers" increased by 27% in L.A. in 2021. Traffic-related deaths weree also up 21% over that period.
Areas in Blumenfield's district where there were frequent reports of street racing include Vanalden Avenue from Gleneagles Drive to Ventura Boulevard, Valley Circle Boulevad, and Victory Boulevard.
"We need more enforcement and the people who are making our streets more dangerous need to be held accountable. Angelenos deserve to be able to go for an evening walk without being threatened by people going 100 mph through residential neighborhoods," Blumenfield said.
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