Tens of Thousands More City Services To Improve L.A. Delivered This Year than 2023 and 2022
Metro Averages More Than One Million Daily Metro Boardings For First Time Since Pandemic
More Parks and Playgrounds Open in L.A. and Hundreds of Solar Street Lights Installed
LOS ANGELES – Mayor Karen Bass this morning was joined by City sanitation workers in Koreatown to announce millions of city services were provided in this year following actions to make City government more efficient and more responsive to Angelenos ahead of the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Highlights include:
Tens of thousands more city services delivered this year than 2023 and 2022
Metro ridership has increased every single month the Mayor has served in office
Record crossing guard deployment, 250 speed humps, 450 School Slow Zones, and more than 180 quick build intersection improvements installed near schools in the city
More than 200 solar street lights installed in the Valley, along the L.A. River and in other neighborhoods throughout L.A.
This week and next, in the run up to her second anniversary in office on December 12, Mayor Bass is crisscrossing the city to highlight how her administration has made change and delivered results to reduce homelessness and homicides, create jobs, support businesses, combat climate change, and better deliver city services.
“We are working to improve City services as we continue urgent preparations to host world events,” said Mayor Bass. “By focusing on and improving processes, the City delivered more services to Angelenos this year than the last two years and our Metro system is seeing continued record ridership while we open new playgrounds and parks to benefit Angelenos for decades to come. We are making Los Angeles more livable, and that urgent action will continue into the new year.”
Cleaning Up Los Angeles and Preparing To Host The World: Mayor Bass has been working to improve the way the City of Los Angeles serves Angelenos by prioritizing filling critical roles and maximizing resources to deliver services to all Angelenos.
Since Mayor Bass took office, City Departments have completed millions of 311 service requests.
This year alone, the City of Los Angeles handled tens of thousands more requests than last year, including additional bulky item removals and more graffiti removal cases.
Mayor Bass this year appointed new Commissioners to the Board of Public Works to serve all of Los Angeles by ensuring that city services to clean, maintain and improve communities are effectively delivered to neighborhoods.
Mayor Bass believes that jurisdictional lines should not stand in the way of a clean, healthy and safe Los Angeles. The City established a new partnership with Caltrans to help keep areas near freeways clean and safe with the State reimbursing the City for costs expended. The City also entered into a new agreement with Union Pacific Railroads to help coordinate maintenance and cleanliness efforts near its railroad tracks throughout the city. Mayor Bass looks forward to expanding these partnerships.
Making Public Transportation Safer, Faster and More Accessible: Mayor Bass has led transportation improvements in the city, which benefits the entire region, helping to ensure that Angelenos have reliable transportation, and working toward competitive alternatives to driving a car.
Metro ridership has increased every month for the last 24 months. Most recently, Metro announced that it is averaging a million daily boardings on the system.
While Mayor Bass was Chair of the Metro Board of Directors, Mayor Bass called for a surge of law enforcement presence on trains, buses and in stations in response to a string of recent violent incidents. Metro data shows a reduction in violent crime during the surge.
In April 2024, the Metro Board approved Mayor Bass’ motion to make the Student GoPass Pilot Program permanent. GoPass provides no-cost, unlimited Metro rides to K-12 and community college students. Currently, more than 350,000 students are registered, representing 1,570 schools across 115 school districts.
After Supervisor Holly Mitchell created the Metro Ambassadors Program, it was expanded to support public safety by making the rider experience safer and more welcoming. Following Mayor Bass’ direction, the Ambassadors were trained to administer Narcan, saving nearly 200 lives since that decision was made.
Mayor Bass and the Metro Board voted to create an in-house community safety department that will meet the unique safety needs of Metro and keep riders, operators and staff safe. The in-house safety department will be developed in the coming years.
Mayor Bass and the Metro Board of Directors worked to accelerate the installation of reinforced barriers to keep bus operators safe. All buses will be outfitted with new protections by the end of 2024. The Department of Transportation is also installing protective barriers in its buses.
Metro has helped bring more than 2,000 people inside. In addition to the Mayor’s motion to better coordinate homelessness solutions, Metro participated in the annual Point-In-Time Count for the first time ever.
More than 50 bus shelters were installed to provide shade, comfort and real time information for bus riders. The remaining shelters are anticipated to be installed in the coming months.
Thousands of permanent supportive and affordable housing units have opened through Metro’s joint development projects that locate housing near Metro bus and rail lines to lower pollution and improve access to opportunities.
The Mayor is supporting efforts to improve bus service and reliability for riders who depend on the bus system to get around L.A. This year, Metro and the LA Department of Transportation launched the Camera Bus Lane Enforcement Pilot, which aims to improve bus speed and reliability by prioritizing bus-only lanes, making buses a more competitive option compared to cars. Over the past two years, the city has added more than 42 miles of priority bus-only lanes, including routes along La Brea Ave, Venice Blvd, and the San Fernando Valley.
More than 80,000 people took Metro to attend the Dodgers Championship Parade in Downtown L.A.
Historic Action To Make Streets Near Schools Safer: Following a direct commitment made between LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho and Mayor Bass to address dangerous streets near schools in the wake of tragic accidents, the City completed installation of projects and actions taken to make areas around schools safer ahead of this school year, including:
Implementing street safety projects in the form of “quick build” street improvements at more than 180 intersections at more than 40 schools.
Installing more than 250 speed humps near 92 schools where speeding is a known issue.
Establishing School Slow Zones with reduced 15 mph speed limits on more than 450 street segments adjoining 190 schools.
Expediting the hiring of crossing guards, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) will deploy more than 500 crossing guards for the coming school year, continuing the widest deployment in over a decade.
Signing an agreement with LAUSD to encourage safe passage that is free from violence for students traveling to and from schools.
Preparing and Modernizing City Infrastructure: Ahead of the World Cup and Olympic and Paralympic Games, Mayor Bass signed Executive Directive 9 to continue improving Los Angeles’ infrastructure and delivery of services by repairing streets, cleaning parks and enhancing infrastructure projects and city services. The Mayor’s executive action will support the City’s work to ensure much needed infrastructure improvements to Los Angeles in a way that will benefit the region for decades to come. The directive will also improve City department coordination to complete projects more efficiently and cheaply; align with voter-approved Measure HLA; and ensure L.A. has its first comprehensive long term plan for all investments on streets, parks, and public spaces to guide this.
Redundant and inefficient working groups are being streamlined into three efficient groups to steward these efforts moving forward.
The City is implementing a digital asset management system to coordinate maintenance and repairs in L.A.'s public spaces. The Mayor’s Office is ensuring that all applicable departments adopt this new software to streamline work and lead to better state of repair for L.A.'s streets and parks.
Multiple departments have submitted their proposals for legacy Games-related improvements to L.A.'s public spaces. This work is being analyzed and coordinated and will be used to build a comprehensive Capital Improvement Plan in support of the Games and beyond.
Improving Customer Experience
Mayor Karen Bass signed her fifth executive directive to improve the customer experience of Angelenos requesting city services by decreasing wait times, enhancing the quality of the service and better communicating the result of service requests. As part of this effort, the 311 platform will be modernized and is expected to launch in 2025.
Expanding Green Spaces, Parks and Accessible Places in Los Angeles
Under Mayor Bass’ leadership, the Department of Recreation and Parks expanded walkable park access (½ mile or a 10 minute walk) by adding the 10th community school park in Los Angeles at Garden Grove Elementary School, which joins Camellia Avenue Elementary School, Garden Grove Elementary School, Harvard Elementary School, Leo Politi Elementary School, Mary McLeod Bethune Middle School, Northridge Middle School, Obama Global Prep Academy, Open Magnet Charter School, Pio Pico Middle School and Ramona Elementary School.
Building on the Department’s Girls Play Los Angeles (GPLA) gender equity program, RAP achieved and is working to surpass a 47% female participation rate in youth sports. For Fiscal Year 2023 - 2024, RAP enrolled more than 100,000 young people.
Engaging Los Angeles In New Ways
The Mayor’s Office of Community Engagement organized more than 20 neighborhood gatherings across the city bringing together more than 1,000 Angelenos to foster community spirit, address local concerns and strengthen the bond between residents and the city administration.
Since the launch of the Mayor’s new constituent portal, the Mayor’s Office has supported more than 5,200 requests from constituents through casework to resolve issues in the City. These issues include homelessness, housing, public safety and water and power.
The City Council confirmed Mayor Bass’ appointment for General Manager of the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment to lead the department’s efforts to deliver on the Charter’s promise for neighborhood representation and begin a transformation that ensures that Angelenos are driving decision-making within their communities.
Breaking Language Barriers and Increasing Accessibility: With more than 200 languages spoken in the nation's second-largest immigrant city, the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs created the Language Access Coordinator position to manage, analyze and address the City's language needs while making services more accessible for all.
Over the past two years, the Office of Immigrant Affairs has regularly met with over 80 community based organizations and government partners about language access within the City of Los Angeles, assisted in the coordination of interpretation and translation for major city events.
The Mayor’s Office is in the process of reviewing Draft Language Access Plans for all 42 City Departments, in collaboration with the Community Investment for Families Department, in order to champion language access for our linguistically diverse communities, which contribute significantly to our city’s vibrant multicultural identity.
Providing Needed Services for Undocumented Immigrants
Mayor Bass worked to secure federal support for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), Clínica Romero, and the Central American Resource Center (CARECEN) to assist immigrant families who recently arrived in Los Angeles and are in need of supportive services.
The Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs has assisted more than 5,000 Angelenos through RepresentLA – a program that provides legal representation to immigrants, in custody or in the community, who face deportation, and to vulnerable individuals seeking affirmative immigration relief. The program will include community outreach to ensure that historically underserved communities receive access to services, and facilitate case management to link clients with other resources and services they need. The program has made vital immigration services available, including removal defense, affirmative representation and assistance with securing employment authorization.
Empowering and Assisting Angelenos Through Los Angeles Public Library Services
The Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) announced a new record of Angelenos enrolled in the library’s Career Online High School Program and celebrated the library’s 1000th graduate. The program offers a full diploma to people whose education was interrupted, and opens doors to career advancement for entire families.
The Los Angeles Public Library circulated over 12 million e-books and e-audiobooks in 2023, and LAPL is on track to surpass 13.5 million for 2024. LAPL had the highest circulation of e-books and e-audiobooks in all of North America.
For Fiscal Year 23-24, LAPL checked out more than 10,000 laptops and mobile wi-fi hotspots to library patrons to support the library’s commitment to digital equity and inclusion.
More than 5,000 library patrons received assistance through the Library Experience Office, which is a one-stop opportunity for people experiencing homelessness to get mental health and social services.
Over 8,700 hours were logged in the LAPL’s historic Central Library Octavia Lab last year, and LAPL is on track to surpass 10,000 hours for 2024. The Octavia Lab is a do-it-yourself makerspace that provides free access to 3-D printing, laser cutters, sewing machines, digital embroidery, design software, recording studios, and much more. Octavia Lab provides library cardholders free and unlimited access to state-of-the-art design, fabrication, preservation, and story-telling technologies.
Engaging Our International Partners To Prepare for the World Cup and the Olympic and Paralympic Games
The Mayor’s Office of International Affairs led 4 strategic trips to Paris, France to observe the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games and prepare to welcome the world to L.A. for the 2028 Games. During these trips, the Mayor met with dozens of Olympic, Paralympic, Team USA, and French officials, toured Olympic and Paralympic sites, learned about Paris 2024’s legacy and social impact and observed Games operations. The Mayor participated in the Olympic and Paralympic Closing Ceremonies, where she received the Olympic and Paralympic flags from Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, becoming the first-ever Black Woman Mayor to receive the flag at the Closing Ceremonies of the Games. Mayor Bass also hosted the Olympic & Paralympic Flag Installation Ceremony at City Hall with Olympians, Paralympians, LA28, the LA84 Foundation, elected officials, and community stakeholders – marking the official handover from Paris to Los Angeles.
The Mayors Office of International Affairs participated in more than 50 observer sessions totaling over 130 hours during the 2024 Paris Games to learn from Paris officials about crucial preparations for the Games.
The Mayor’s Office of International Affairs hosted a landmark Paris 2024 After-Action Summit with more than a dozen representatives from the City of Paris, bringing their experience and wisdom to Los Angeles to help prepare for the 2028 Games.
The Mayor’s Office of International Affairs facilitated the participation of more than 100 staff from at least 30 different public agencies and departments across the City of L.A., other venue host cities, regional and state agencies, elected officials and their staff in observer sessions during the 2024 Paris Games.
Deepening Ties With International Partners To Continue Benefits of Close Ties
Mayor Bass met with 10 Ambassadors and Cabinet Ministers (including Mexico, Japan and Indonesia), two thirds of the LA Consular Corps (67 Consuls General/Honorary Consuls out of 93) and 2 Heads of State (Armenia, Croatia) and attended the Inauguration of Mexico’s first female President in Mexico City, a Sister City to Los Angeles to further strengthen Los Angeles as a world class city.
Mayor Bass participated in events focused on strengthening L.A.'s economic ties with Africa, including with the Pacific Council on International Policy and Prosper Africa’s British Robinson and with Carnegie California featuring the Mayor alongside Dr. Florie Liser of the Corporate Council on Africa and Almaz Negash of the African Diaspora Network. The Mayor’s Office of International Affairs also hosted more than a dozen listening sessions and roundtables with 100 members of the African diaspora focused on specific sectors for growing trade and investment and Los Angeles.