In a landmark victory for the people of Los Angeles, Measure HLA has passed with resounding support, marking a pivotal moment in the city's transportation future. With an impressive 63.05% (as of March 6th) of the vote, Measure HLA triumphed in a landslide win on Tuesday, March 5th.

What does Measure HLA do? Each year, the City of Los Angeles resurfaces approximately 6.6% of its roads. With the passage of Measure HLA, any Mobility Plan improvements must be applied whenever a street undergoes resurfacing. This expedites the realization of Mobility Plan 2035, which aims to upgrade over 2,500 miles of city streets and eliminate transportation-related fatalities by 2035. Furthermore, it pledges to transform the city's streetscape, enhancing safety and efficiency for all residents without raising taxes.

This is a game-changer for Los Angeles. Before Measure HLA, when a road was resurfaced, it might or might not get improvements to its safety and upgrades for public transit. At the previous implementation rate, the Mobility Plan might be completed by 2185. With Measure HLA, anytime more than ⅛ of a mile of road is resurfaced, it will need to include the upgrades laid out in Mobility Plan 2035. It will still take a while to complete all the upgrades laid out, but it will get done closer to 2040, or sooner if we have anything to say about it, not 2185. 

Key highlights of Measure HLA include:

• The installation of 238 miles of protected bike lanes, alongside hundreds more unprotected lanes, promising to transform some of the region’s most iconic car-centric roads into complete streets that are more friendly for pedestrians and cyclists. 

• Significant improvements for public transit, with 300 miles of enhancements planned for buses, including dedicated bus lanes and signal prioritization.

• The city making a website showing the progress of Mobility Plan 2035 implementation as part of the required transparency provisions. 

"We are thrilled with the overwhelming support shown for Measure HLA," said Damian Kevitt, Executive Director at Streets Are For Everyone and an early endorser of the measure. "This is a testament to the collective commitment of Angelenos towards building a safer, more sustainable future for our city."

Measure HLA lets the city rapidly deal with potholes or emergency repaving of stretches less than 1/8th of a mile. 

Measure HLA also has teeth to make sure it gets implemented. If the city repaves a road and doesn’t implement the required safety and mobility improvements, any time a person gets injured on that street, the city can be held liable via the courts. 

For more details on Measure HLA, check out this link.