Instead of Reopening the I-10 Freeway, LA Should Have Reimagined It
Imagine if city leaders could apply the same sense of urgency towards moving people out of cars, writes transit advocate Alex Contreras.
The intersection of Interstate 10 and Interstate 110 in Los Angeles, California, US, on Monday, Nov. 13, 2023.
Photographer: Kyle Grillot/BloombergWhen a nearly two-mile section of the I-10 freeway in Los Angeles closed earlier this month due to fire damage, transit advocates like me were anxious to see what leaders would do. Maybe, we thought, LA would finally be forced to embrace public transportation and people-first mobility.
Instead, what we got was largely confirmation of the status quo. After days of round-the-clock repair work, the I-10 freeway was fully reopened to drivers on Monday morning, beating initial expectations by a long shot. Traffic information signs all over the city flashed with a proud message: “I-10 REOPENED IN DAYS NOT WEEKS / THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE LA.” There’d been a few tweaks to transit service, but by and large, LA had missed its opportunity to live with fewer freeways.