LAX people mover testing, Ballot measure curbing AIDS Healthcare Foundation approved, and more

With a budget increase approved and work back on track, testing for the LAX automated people mover has moved to a new phase. LAWA announced this week that people mover test trains have now started entering the central terminal area - the first time the vehicles have crossed over Sepulveda and Century Boulevards.

The people mover is slated to open for passengers in January 2026.

Metro's ridership numbers keep heading in the right direction. The agency announced this week that in October, it once again achieved more than one million weekday riders, accounting for the 23rd straight month of year-over-year ridership growth. As of October, weekday ridership has reached nearly 84 percent of October 2019 pre-pandemic levels, while weekend ridership is at 97.5 percent of pre-pandemic levels.

Here's what we're reading this week:

L.A. City Council committee approves sweeping housing rezoning plan "The effort is in response to state housing mandates that seek to alleviate the housing crisis by requiring the city find land where an additional 255,000 homes can be built and have the plan in place by mid-February." (LA Times)

Metro Committee Approves Revoking $435K Culver City Grant due to Bike Lane Removal "Culver City recently removed protected bike lanes funded by a Metro Active Transportation grant, now Metro wants its money back" (Streetsblog LA)

The Civic Center mall is nearly dead. The city is looking to revitalize it "Proposals for the redevelopment of the Civic Center go back almost 30 years, but the 2013 closing of Parker Center, the former LAPD headquarters, led to an ambitious plan that called for new offices, apartments and retail space linked by a series of paseos east into Little Tokyo....The plan, unveiled in 2017, was shelved just before the pandemic, a fortuitous turn that is now allowing planners to adapt to a radically different city....The Los Angeles Mall downtown is nearly dead....A new report and analysis is expected to be presented to the City Council early next year, said Miller." (LA Times)

Following scathing audit, LA County supervisor proposes moving homeless services under direct county control "A new audit finds that a Los Angeles homeless services agency with an $875-million annual budget has routinely paid service providers late, failed to track whether contracts were followed and, in some cases, gave taxpayer funds meant for other purposes to providers who weren’t supposed to receive the money." (LAist)

Touring the Puente Hills Landfill Slated to Become the Future “Griffith Park of the San Gabriel Valley” "Puente Hills Landfill Park is expected to open in 2027, with 140 acres of trails and stunning vistas all the way to the ocean" (Streetsblog LA)

California voters approve measure aimed at restricting AIDS Healthcare Foundation spending "Proposition 34’s restrictions could hamstring AHF’s ability to fund additional rent control measures or operate apartments it owns in and around Skid Row, which have been beset with vermin infestations, elevator failures and other problems, according to a Times investigation published last fall." (LA Times)

Neighborhood change and transit ridership: Evidence from Los Angeles and Orange Counties "Using data from Southern California, we examine the idea that rising housing prices in transit-rich neighborhoods contributed to pre-COVID declines in transit use." (Journal of Transport Geography)

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