A proposal to bring streetscape improvements to two of the most important commercial thoroughfares in South Los Angeles is poised to receive up to $46 million through the Southern California Association of Government's Active Transportation Program, according to an announcement from Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson's office. 


Originally proposed in 2015, the "Broadway Manchester Active Transportation Equity Project," calls for redesigning both Broadway and Manchester Avenue to include protected bike lanes, while also adding sidewalk improvements, new pedestrian lighting, and 480 trees.

“It’s high time we see investment like this on our thoroughfares and on the east side of South LA,” said Harris-Dawson in a statement. “With its proximity to the Port and Downtown, there’s more opportunity than most neighborhoods and less investment.”


The announcement from Harris-Dawson's office notes that the Broadway-Manchester community has 50 years of disinvestment, with the surrounding area being located in the top five percent of disadvantaged census tracts in the State of California.  Approximately 92 percent of students at the neighborhood's 14 public schools receive free or discounted meals.

The project spans 2.8 miles of Broadway and Manchester that are both priority corridors in the City of Los Angeles' High Injury Network.  Over the past six years, the project area has seen 249 injuries and nine fatalities in traffic incidents.


Several public-private developments are also bringing new housing and retail to the surrounding community, including the Isla Intersections development - which will use shipping containers to create 54 permanent supportive housing units - and a mixed-use project slated for the blighted property at the corner of Manchester and Vermont Avenue.

Also on the horizon is a proposed mixed-use development at the corner of 94th Street and Broadway which would include 160 units of market-rate housing with a grocery store, a hydroponic farm, and food-related retail.