LOS ANGELES — Mayor Karen Bass today announced federal and regional funding that has been secured through a locked arms approach and actions that are being taken to combat the impacts of climate change through city services in the Northeast San Fernando Valley and citywide. The announced City services include an innovative street furniture program that will begin installation in early 2024, planting of additional trees and continued implementation of solutions like cool pavement, which help cool down neighborhoods. Watch the livestream here. Pictures will be available here.
“Today we see new momentum to combat the impacts of climate change throughout our city services, including new bus shelters to protect Angelenos from sweltering heat, planting more trees and using new techniques like cool pavement to lower the overall street temperature and make Los Angeles cooler,” said Mayor Karen Bass. “We must use all of the tools we have in order to build a greener Los Angeles, starting with improving our city services which is made possible through the partnership with our City Council, Metro and congressional representatives coming together to secure additional funding for new infrastructure. New bus shelters will be located with purpose so that communities have relief from the heat and the worsening impacts of climate change that are felt by hotter days throughout the year.”
Mayor Bass and leaders announced the following secured funds:
$30 million Public Works Trust Fund loan proposed by Mayor Bass and approved by City Council to catalyze a rapid rollout of the City’s long-awaited bus shelter program: the Sidewalk and Transit Amenities Program (STAP), which will bring 3,000 bus shelters and 450 shade structures to the City under an equity-informed deployment
$8 million in City funding included in Mayor Bass’ first budget and approved by City Council to provide additional STAP support
$53M in Metro funding to construct bus shelters as part of Metro’s North San Fernando Valley Transit Corridor project, which will improve east-west transit service with various routes improvements and amenities
$2.5 million in Federal Community Project Funding from Congressman Tony Cárdenas for shade structures, cool paving street segments and other neighborhood cooling projects
“The Northeast San Fernando Valley has felt the effects of the climate crisis for years,” said Congressman Tony Cárdenas. “Today we have come together to mark a historic investment that will help the city of Los Angeles to mitigate the dramatic impacts of climate change. I am proud to have secured $2.5 million in Community Project Funding for the City of Los Angeles to install cool pavement and shade structures across the Valley. This funding will help lower air temperatures, improve water quality, and enhance safety for our community members today, and those in the generations to come.”
“Within the last five years in the State Legislature, I have worked hard to increase our climate resiliency, whether it was passing a bill creating the nation’s first extreme heat ranking system or securing state funds that establish an extreme heat resiliency program. At the local, state, and federal levels we have proposed policies that will strengthen our community’s efforts in combating climate change. Today’s press conference is a testament that when all levels of government come together, we can deliver promising results,” said Assemblywoman Luz Rivas.
"Shade is essential as we experience increasing days of extreme heat. I join Mayor Bass, the City of Los Angeles, and regional partners in celebrating investments in new bus shelters, street trees, and pavement cooling solutions in the San Fernando Valley," said Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath. "These are welcome improvements that will cool our neighborhoods and make bus transit more comfortable and convenient."
“As we look to mitigate the impacts of climate change in our communities, I am excited to be part of bringing funding and solutions to address climate change here in the Valley,” said Councilmember Imelda Padilla. “I am extremely proud to see the quality of life improvements that we can achieve for our neighborhoods when we lock arms across all levels of government. It will take many more of these types of partnerships to effectively address the climate crisis in the Valley, and our constituents can count on me to roll up my sleeves to secure the resources they deserve to thrive.”
"As Chair of the City’s Budget, Finance, and Innovation Committee and former Chair of Public Works, I have worked hard to make sure that Los Angeles has invested more money to combat climate change than any other city,” said Councilmember Bob Blumenfield. “It takes a collective continued commitment to make all this happen and I thank Mayor Bass and our partners in the federal and county governments for delivering and helping us ensure a better future for Los Angeles as well as our planet.
“For the first time in this City’s history, we are actually committing dollars that will go directly towards building these 3,000 critical bus structures,” said Councilmember Nithya Raman. “To put that into perspective, in just the first year of this contract, we are going to build more bus structures than we’ve built in the last decade in Los Angeles! That is a dramatic change that is going to result in a new way of getting around this city because you will have much needed shade at all of these stops for the first time.”
“As Metro continues to be an accessible climate solution for LA County residents, it's crucial to upgrade our region’s bus infrastructure and provide a safer, faster, and more comfortable trip for the millions of people who ride our buses.” said Stephanie Wiggins, CEO of Metro. “I thank Rep. Cárdenas for championing climate resilience in the Valley and Mayor Bass, Supervisor Horvath, and the rest of the Metro Board for their commitment to providing a world-class experience for Metro’s bus riders.”