Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
Figueroa, finally. Here's what 10 years and $20 million can do for 4 miles of street.
Listen
• 1:03
An artist''s rendering shows a protected bike lane that will be built on Figueroa Street as part of the My Figueroa project.
(
L.A. Department of Transportation
)
A transit platform is under construction near Figueroa Street and Olympic Boulevard in downtown L.A.
(
Meghan McCarty Carino/KPCC
)
A $20 million project to remake a four-mile stretch of Figueroa Street with better access for walkers, bikers and transit is nearing completion after 10 years of planning and setbacks.
A lawsuit and construction delays, in part to relocate utility lines, slowed the work. The project also began under the Community Redevelopment Agency but was shifted to the Los Angeles Department of Transportation when the CRA closed down.
The My Figueroa project area runs from 7th Street in the heart of downtown south to Exposition Park, covering short portions of 11th Street and Martin Luther King Boulevard.
Support for LAist comes from
The improvements will add three miles of bikeway, portions of which are fully protected or buffered, wider sidewalks, high-visibility crosswalks, improved signal timing, landscaping, art and floating transit platforms.
The new transit platforms will allow buses to pick up passengers without cutting through the bike lane.
A transit platform is under construction near Figueroa Street and Olympic Boulevard in downtown L.A.
(
Meghan McCarty Carino/KPCC
)
Funding comes from Proposition 1C, which in 2006 authorized $2.85 billion in general obligation bonds for housing, transportation and development programs.
The Figueroa project concept is known to urban planners as a "complete street," one that is designed to serve all road users, not just cars.
"It’s really incredible," said Deborah Murphy, the founder of the organization Los Angeles Walks who helped write the project's original grant. She said My Figueroa is the biggest and most significant project of its kind in the city of L.A.
"I think we’ll see a great transformation of movement on Figueroa and people’s perceptions of what our streets can be," she said.
Support for LAist comes from
But the project does eliminate a lane of car traffic on some stretches, an action that has caused considerable outrage in Playa del Rey and other parts of the city.
Figueroa Street, though, is already a high-traffic corridor for walking, biking and transit use in the most densely urbanized part of the city. Car traffic flows more slowly there.
Construction began in October 2016 . The L.A. Department of Transportation expects the project to be completed by mid-April.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
Isolated showers can still hit the L.A. area until Friday as remnants from the tropical storm move out. -
First aspiring spectators must register online, then later in 2026 there will be a series of drawings. -
It's thanks to Tropical Storm Mario, so also be ready for heat and humidity, and possibly thunder and lightning. -
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass suspended a state law allowing duplexes, calling more housing unsafe. But in Altadena, L.A. County leaders say these projects could be key for rebuilding. -
![A Black woman sits at a dais with a flag in the background. A name placard in front of her reads: Dr. Va Lecia Adams Kell[um].](https://scpr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/5425437/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6298x3897+0+0/resize/640x396!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fscpr-brightspot.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2F76%2F00%2Febed9a7a4fbd9e5ba12997e51d59%2Fgettyimages-1258669633.jpg)
L.A. County investigators have launched a probe into allegations about Va Lecia Adams Kellum and people she hired at the L.A. Homeless Services Authority. -
This measure on the Nov. 4, 2025, California ballot is part of a larger battle for control of the U.S. House of Representatives next year.
![A Black woman sits at a dais with a flag in the background. A name placard in front of her reads: Dr. Va Lecia Adams Kell[um].](https://scpr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/45c201e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6298x3894+0+0/resize/786x486!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fscpr-brightspot.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2F76%2F00%2Febed9a7a4fbd9e5ba12997e51d59%2Fgettyimages-1258669633.jpg)
Best of LAist