East Los Angeles County Project Improvements

Harrison Elementary School Soundwall

Overview: In the heart of City Terrace hundreds of children at Harrison Elementary School sat just yards away from the Santa Monica Freeway where the constant noise and pollution generated by thousands of passing cars and trucks threatened their health and ability to learn. Their only barrier against these environmental and educational hazards was a chain-link fence.

Improvements: The County responded to this environmental and educational injustice and in 2021 funded and built a state-of-the-art masonry Soundwall and added acoustic barriers to reduce traffic noise. The County also planted new vines and over 100 trees along the masonry Soundwall and surrounding neighborhood.

County investment: $2.4M

Children empowered: 400+

Harrison Elementary Before

Harrison Elementary After

East Los Angeles Community Roadway Improvement

Overview: East Los Angeles residents deserve access to state-of-the-art transportation infrastructure that is safe, resilient, sustainable, and equitable. The County continues to invest in enhancing the quality of life in the unincorporated community of East Los Angeles with roadway upgrades along Whittier Boulevard and Olympic Boulevard.

Improvements: The County has begun repairing 2.5 miles of roadway on Whittier Boulevard and 2.1 miles of roadway on Olympic Boulevard, including parkway improvements, sidewalk repair, curb ramp reconstruction, pavement resurfacing, and traffic signal upgrades.

The County collaborated with the Whittier and Olympic communities to minimize disruptions during this comprehensive street improvement project that will reduce vehicle wear and tear, improve traffic flow, and improve pedestrian and driver safety when completed.

County investment: $16.6M

Jobs Created: 75

Olympic Blvd. Before

Olympic Blvd. After

Traffic Signal Synchronization Project

Overview: Every year East Los Angeles and nearby Boyle Heights, City of Commerce, and Montebello drivers needlessly idle in traffic, collectively wasting hundreds of hours and spewing tons of toxic tailpipe pollutant that trigger asthma and other fatal respiratory diseases like bronchitis and lung cancer.

Improvements: The County is now upgrading and synchronizing 28 traffic signals between successive intersections between Indiana Street and Montebello Boulevard, as well as placing detectors along the route to detect the presence of vehicles.

County Investment: $5.2M

Jobs Created: 15

Saybrook Median Renovation

Overview: The County is continuing its commitment to create sorely lacking, dedicated green spaces in East Los Angeles to beautify the area and help boost the physical and mental quality of life for community residents.

Improvements: Phase III of the Saybrook Median renovation, part of the East LA Sustainable Median Stormwater Capture Project. is now underway. The County is installing new landscaping with drought tolerant and native trees and shrubs, creating a dedicated open space with picnic tables that is bisected by a permeable walking path, and installing a smart Irrigation system.

County Investment: $2.3M

Jobs Created: 10

City Terrace Vision Zero Art Walk

Overview: Nearly one in seven people living along City Terrace Drive rely on walking, bicycling, or transit to get to school and work every day. Portions of City Terrace Drive are among the Top 30 roadways with a history of fatal and severe injury collisions. Between 2013-2021 seven drivers and passengers and four pedestrians suffered severe injuries, and one pedestrian was killed while traveling along City Terrace Drive.

The City Terrace Art Walk provided the community to celebrate City Terrace art. Culture, food, and community, and reimagine City Terrace Drive as a street centered around increasing walking, biking, driving, and rolling safety.

Improvements: Los Angeles County has set a goal of zero traffic deaths on unincorporated County roadways by 2035. Vision Zero is an initiative to eliminate traffic-related fatalities and guide the County’s efforts in enhancing traffic safety in unincorporated Los Angeles County communities.

Planned improvements include: creating high-visibility crosswalks to alert drivers of pedestrian crossings; building curb “bulb-outs” to shorten the crossing distance for pedestrians and reduce vehicle speeds; and reconfiguring roadways to one line in each direction to reduce speeding and serious crashes, allow space to accommodate new turning lanes, and add a dedicated space for bicyclists.

East Los Angeles Monuments

Overview: To celebrate and beautify the community of East Los Angeles and present an even-more welcoming face along the area’s streets, the County held community workshops to gather feedback and develop, present, and finalize design concepts for all-new welcoming monuments along a series of streets throughout East Los Angeles.

Improvements: The County will begin installing redesigned monument signs on multiple East Los Angeles streets this year that will showcase a new, more-welcoming face.

County Investment: $2.3M

Jobs Created: 10

Current Monument

Future Monument

Eastside Transit Corridor Phase 2 Project

Overview: The Board of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) voted this month to approve the certification of the final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Eastside Transit Corridor Phase 2 Project. This action finalizes the environmental review for this two-phased project that will extend the Metro E Line nine miles further east from its current terminus at Atlantic station in East Los Angeles to Lambert station in the City of Whittier – running through the cities of Montebello and Pico Rivera via Washington Boulevard.

Improvements: The Eastside Transit Corridor Phase 2 rail extension will provide commuters in a high travel-demand corridor relief to the limited transportation systems currently available.

The Eastside Extension will include three new underground rail stations with the new Atlantic/Whittier and Commerce/Citadel stations and the Greenwood station at street level. Additionally, a new Maintenance and Storage Facility (MSF) will also be added and located in the City of Montebello.

The initial segment from East Los Angeles to Greenwood Station in Montebello will include approximately three miles of light rail transit (LRT) underground, a half mile of aerial transit, and 1.1 miles of track at street level for a total of 4.6 miles of new rail line from the current terminus at Atlantic Boulevard.

Jobs to be Created: 15,000 – 16,000 union construction jobs

Bridging the Digital Divide

You cannot participate in today’s digital world without internet access. Unfortunately, too many homes lack internet service – not because service is unavailable but because it’s unaffordable. That’s why in 2021, I authored a motion to accelerate digital equity in Los Angeles County and prioritize our most-vulnerable communities. As a result of my motion, the County will launch the Community Broadband Network (CBN) by the end of the year, which will deliver high-speed, high-quality residential internet service for as little as $25 a month. The CBN will roll out in select communities, and in my District it will be offered to eligible households in East Los Angeles and Boyle Heights, including the neighborhoods of Lincoln Heights, Montecito Heights, and El Sereno. For more information visit the website of the internet service provider, WeLink, at https://welink.com/LACounty/