Mayor Karen Bass’ plan to slash millions from the Los Angeles Department of Transportation could be deadly, according to road safety advocates.
Activists, community members, and city employees marched through the streets of downtown L.A. on Wednesday night, pushing back against the mayor’s plan to cut LADOT funds and Vision Zero initiatives to help close a billion-dollar budget deficit. Many fear the move will lead to more traffic deaths.
Beverly, who lost her 5-year-old grandson when someone rolled through a stop sign, told KNX News’ Nataly Tavidian she’s been fighting for safer roads for years. But traffic fatalities just keep rising.
“I don’t want to be Mayor Bass. I wouldn't want to be her on a bet,” she said. “She really developed and inherited a mess. However, she has to pick and choose very wisely, and this is a life-or-death situation. We are not kidding about this, or one person every day wouldn’t be dying.”
Calla Gonzalez marched in honor of Edgar Gonzalez, a 43-year-old restaurant worker who was killed while biking home several weeks ago. She said his tragic death highlights the growing crisis of traffic violence in Los Angeles, where traffic fatalities now outnumber homicides.
“We are in a public health crisis, an infrastructure crisis,” she said. “The massive budget cuts are a serious threat to our community, to our city’s transportation department, which will be hit the hardest. It’s a threat to cyclists and pedestrians who will have to navigate dark streets and the potential halt in streetlight repairs.”
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They’re urging mayor Karen Bass to preserve funding for infrastructure, street safety, and the Department of Transportation staff who make L.A.’s streets safer.
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