The Santa Monica City Council has voted to accept a $2 million federal grant to study the feasibility of removing a section of Interstate 10, a move that has sparked debate about the city's transportation future and potential impacts on traffic and tourism.
The council's 7-0 vote in June authorized staff to study "cap parks" over the Santa Monica Freeway between 11th and 20th streets. City officials also directed staff to investigate the possibility of eliminating that stretch of the freeway, which opened in the 1960s. The grant comes from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program, which aims to fund efforts to repair neighborhoods divided by major transportation infrastructure. California also established a similar program in 2023.
Proponents of the study suggest the freeway segment historically displaced over 1,500 residents, many from predominantly Black and Latino communities. The idea of removing the freeway is seen by some as a way to address past injustices and potentially create new public spaces.
However, critics argue that removing such a vital transportation artery would cripple connectivity for the city and the wider Los Angeles region. Concerns have been raised that diverting I-10 traffic to surface streets like Pico, Olympic, and Santa Monica boulevards would lead to severe gridlock. This could also negatively impact tourism, which City Manager Oliver Chi has recently lamented declining.
LA's reliance on freeways for transportation, unlike denser cities such as New York or San Francisco, is a key point in the discussion. Eliminating a major freeway like I-10 would require approval from state and federal authorities, in addition to the city's own studies.
Some local observers have characterized the proposal as unrealistic, questioning the prioritization of such studies over other city needs and the potential consequences for residents' daily lives and the local economy. The debate highlights a tension between addressing historical community impacts and maintaining current transportation infrastructure for a sprawling metropolitan area.