Earlier this month, a post on Reddit asked about the worst pothole-ridden streets in Los Angeles. The poster suggested it might be Beaudry Avenue, Mission Road, Fountain Avenue, or Union Street, and asked for other suggestions. A few responses, for example "Gestures Broadly," noted that potholes are pretty much all over. Others respondents cited degraded pavement on streets from the Eastside to South L.A. to the Valley to the Westside.
There are a lot of factors that impact pavement condition, including winter weather. Heavy rains worsen cracks and potholes, so seasonally late spring, the overall pavement condition can be somewhat worse than other times of the year.
But Streetsblog noticed that first street the redditor had listed: Beaudry Avenue - a north/south street just west of downtown Los Angeles.
A lot of Beaudry is in bad shape, and has been pockmarked for more than a year.
And at least part of the reason for Beaudry's condition appears to be the city's response to Measure HLA, the voter-approved law that now requires the city to gradually install planned bus/bike/walk upgrades during repaving and other street work. In April 2024 (right after Measure HLA became law), Streetsblog shared with readers how to check city websites to look at upcoming resurfacing (called the PPP - Pavement Preservation Program) projects that would trigger bus/bike/walk improvements.
(A quick how-to recap: check the Public Works Department Bureau of Street Services [StreetsLA] Road Surface Condition Map which shows a layer called Pavement Preservation. If a street segment is marked "repaving" under Pavement Preservation, then it can trigger upgrades. The street has to be part of the city's Mobility Plan bus/bike/networks, which are mapped by Measure HLA proponents. The repaving also needs to be at least 1/8 mile - 660 feet - which is fairly easy to measure on Google Maps, via Measure Distance function.)
In April 2024, StreetsLA had much of Beaudry marked for repaving in Fiscal Year 23-24, so it appeared that Beaudry would be resurfaced by June 30, 2024. That resurfacing would have triggered pedestrian enhancements and bike lanes.
Then StreetsLA effectively put repaving on hold for street segments where the city had planned new bus/bike/walk facilities. Beaudry repaving disappeared from the StreetsLA website (as did parts of Sherman Way, Virgil Avenue, 7th Street that also would have triggered HLA). For what it's worth, the city did not entirely jettison Beaudry, but shrunk more than a half-mile of planned repaving to just the one block of Beaudry (below Wilshire). It's the only block of Beaudry where the city's plan includes neither bike nor walk upgrades.
To be fair, StreetsLA PPP look-ahead lists/schedules/maps often change, based on various factors, including weather. Though this can undermine Measure HLA, it is not illegal. It makes sense that the city might postpone some repaving in order to design and coordinate HLA-required upgrades.
Streetsblog checked in with StreetsLA spokesperson Dan Halden about pavement conditions and how they relate to Measure HLA. Halden responded that HLA has not impacted overall city pavement conditions:
The City’s overall Pavement Condition Index (PCI), which is updated regularly and measures the health of every street in the City’s street network, has remained relatively stable and in “fair” condition for at least five years. StreetsLA’s Pavement Preservation Program, including which streets are proposed and scheduled for resurfacing, is focused on pavement quality and maintaining the citywide PCI at “fair” or above. Measure HLA has not affected overall citywide PCI.
StreetsLA also keeps track of certain areas that are known to require more frequent maintenance attention, and we proactively inspect and deploy resources accordingly, especially during wet weather which is the biggest external challenge impacting pavement quality.
The best way for the public to communicate needs is to use MyLA311 to immediately report areas in need of attention, particularly for issues like potholes. The Bureau will also soon be launching an updated website that will be a better resource connecting the public to our core services, including street repairs like potholes.
This is opening the same big can of worms as that Reddit post did, but, readers, what's your take on the current state of the city streets? As you bike, walk, bus and/or drive around Los Angeles, are you seeing more potholes than you usually do in March? Are you reporting issues via 311? What L.A. City streets are in the worst condition for you now?
