Infrastructure Cracks as Los Angeles Defers Repairs - Sophia Davison

  In Los Angeles, the second largest city in the U.S., a process of major reconsideration towards the importance of simple public works is under way. Roads, sidewalks, water works - you name it - problems are arising. Many nearly-century old facilities and public works are beginning to show their age, and just how much wear and tear the masses of locals and tourists put upon the public facilities every year. With the cost of repairs rising daily, can we predict how much longer L.A. will stay intact? Or even functional?
  Just in July, a 90-year-old water main burst in the middle of a notable drought, flooding the University of California's campus with 20 million gallons of water, and causing closure and immediate emergency repair work for that area of L.A.. At a sum of $8.1 million for repair work alone, and limited at a $26 billion budget for the whole of the city, Los Angeles has some serious problems to address.
  All of these issues reflect the basic maintenance problems that many large American cities face today, especially with such a high dependence on automobile use, and in particular, the Los Angeles limitations of government in raising taxes. Dilapidated infrastructure creates an unsettling notion for the people of many run-down facilities, and lawsuits from various programs push for action that will create a safer and more pleasant system for them to live in. Costs are enormous, however, and fixing all of the giant city's total repairs for roads, sidewalks, and aging water pipes would cost $8 million, excluding other necessary repairs for city facilities. The real problem is illuminated in cutbacks in federal spending.
  "The sense is that more and more, we are going to be doing things alone," says mayor Eric Garcetti of Los Angeles. Conflicts arise within the question of raising taxes as city officials realize how costly repairing all of the aspects of L.A. would become. The heavy reliance upon automobiles creates another conflict as council members and officials debate whether moving L.A. towards a larger-scale public transit system is a worthy effort. "'A lot of people are going to say they feel overtaxed,' Mr. James said. 'I'm not saying we're not. But it means going to the voters, as I am prepared to do on behalf of Mayor Garcetti, to make the economic argument that $26 a year, which is what you would spend on a half-cent sales tax increase, is a lot better than $830 a year to fix your car.'"
  That is the standing argument as of now, yet there is no telling which road our public works funding will take our large American cities, and can we handle the cost of it? As Mr. Nahai, the former chief of the Department of Water and Power says,"The longer we wait, the more expensive it's all going to be."http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/09/02/us/pipes-roads-and-walks-crack-as-los-angeles-defers-repairs.html