LOS ANGELES (CNS) – The Los Angeles City Council voted 12-2 today to authorize the Department of Transportation to finalize agreements with Metro to secure nearly $3.2 million for an open and slow streets initiative.
Open street events such as CicLAvia are meant to demonstrate the demand for safe walking and cycling in the city.
In summer 2025, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority released a notice of funding availability for its sixth and seventh cycles of the Open and Slow Streets Program. The agency set aside $10 million, combining the awards in 2026 and 2028 to better align with the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympic Games.
The Department of Transportation submitted eight applications for funding and partnered with West Hollywood on a joint application. El Pueblo, in collaboration with LADOT, submitted two additional applications for funding.
Metro selected and approved applications in December 2025. Six of LADOT’s eight applications received either full or partial funding, according to a city report. El Pueblo’s two applications received full funding.
In order to accept the awards, the city is required to provide a 30% local match. The city is also expected to receive some funding from Metro for an event in North Hollywood.
Metro set aside $5 million for three open streets activations, which include one in Los Angeles as part of a separate Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods federal grant that Metro was awarded in 2024. This pot of money will support Metro’s forthcoming North Hollywood Mobility Hub, adjacent to the North Hollywood B and G Line stations.
Council members Wednesday voted to match the awards with nearly $2 million to fund open and slow street events, such as CicLAvia, in neighborhoods throughout Los Angeles.
City Council members Bob Blumenfield and Monica Rodriguez opposed the matter, raising concerns about the disparity of open street events in the San Fernando Valley, which they represent. Councilman Curren Price was absent during the vote.
“Of those nine events, only one is in the San Fernando Valley, where 40% of Angelenos reside,” said Blumenfield, who represents the Third Council District, encompassing West Valley neighborhoods such as Canoga and Woodland Hills.
“That single Valley event got less than half the money the city requested in Metro’s last open street cycle. (Open street events are) just as important in the Valley as in other parts of the city — I might say even more important in the Valley, given our wide streets,” Blumenfield said.
“It just angers me that this keeps happening. While I never like to say no to grant money coming in, I’ve got to do something. This is supposed to be a city-wide program.”
Rodriguez joined Blumenfield in what they called a protest vote.
“For those of us who represent the San Fernando Valley, and especially our colleagues serving on the Metro Board, we want to make sure that we get our fair share,” said Rodriguez, who represents the Seventh Council District, encompassing Northeast Valley communities such as Pacoima and Sylmar.
I have to agree with councilmembers Bob Blumenfield and Monica Rodriguez. As a long-time Valley resident, myself, the San Fernando Valley doesn’t get its fair share of resources from the city and county of Los Angeles. We want more Open-Street Events here in the San Fernando Valley!