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What Will Obama do for Los Angeles?
AP Photo/Charles Dharapak
President-Elect Barack Obama is planning to propose a federal economic stimulus package when he's in office. It would be an infrastructure investment plan, "the largest since the creation of the national highway system, to jumpstart the economy." It would include infrastructure projects that are "ready to go", meaning that they have cleared all planning, design and environmental reviews and can begin construction within 180 days and complete construction by December 31, 2010. The city already has a long list of those types of projects, here are a few interesting ones:
- Bamsdall Transit Oriented District (East Hollywood)
- Citywide New Left Turn Improvements
- Citywide Tree Planting
- More Phases of the LA River Bike Path
- Adding more capacity and safety features to the 7th/Mero Red Line Station
- Road and trail improvements and a horticultural learning center at Griffith Park
- Chinatown Streetscape improvements
Of course, the federal government can't and won't fund the hundreds of projects on the list, so city council is going through so they can do some prioritizing(Next meeting about it is on Monday). To see what's "ready to go" in your district--but not funded--download the list here (.pdf)
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
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