Why Los Angeles Stopped Repaving Its Streets
4 hours ago
- Los Angeles has stopped repaving its streets since June, with minimal full resurfacing planned, due to federal disability rules that make road repairs legally risky.
- The city created a new category called 'large asphalt repairs' to avoid triggering ADA requirements, which mandate costly curb ramp installations at intersections when streets are altered.
- Each curb ramp costs about $50,000, adding up to $2 million per mile for repaving, often exceeding the cost of asphalt itself, leading to delays and legal concerns.
- Patching streets instead of resurfacing accelerates deterioration and raises long-term costs, as it fails to fix underlying issues, potentially leading to full reconstruction needs.
- The situation mirrors LA's slow sidewalk repairs, with a 2021 audit showing less than 1% of sidewalk parcels fixed since a 2016 $1.4 billion settlement, causing wait times over 10 years.
- Broken sidewalks and missing ramps disproportionately harm disabled, elderly, and families with strollers, while the city pays millions in damage claims instead of funding repairs.