Will LA be ready to host 2028 Olympics? Mayor Bass addresses top concerns, including homelessness and traffic issues

PARIS (KABC) — In just a few years, Los Angeles will host the Olympics and with all the excitement comes some logistical concerns.

Is the city ready for the global spotlight? How will leaders tackle pressing issues, such as homelessness and the city’s infrastructure?

Paris and L.A. were concurrently awarded the 2024 and 2028 Olympics back in 2017. City officials have been paying close attention to Paris’ preparations and are now getting a firsthand look at what it will take to pull off a successful global event.

Eyewitness News spoke with Mayor Karen Bass about the massive undertaking for 2028.

L.A.’s love for cars and the need to adapt

Bass believes one of the biggest challenges is going to be what she called a “car-free Olympics.”

“We need 3,000 busses to come into town, 3,000 busses won’t all be electric vehicles because we’re going to have to borrow them from many, many cities,” she said. “So that in and of itself is going to be a logistical nightmare.”

So when people hear the phrase “car free,” some may worry. Does that mean people can’t drive their vehicles?

“It does,” said Bass. “It means that if you’re going to go to one of the Olympic venues, you are going to take public transportation. That’s what it means, and, you know, for our city where we’re born with cars, it’s going to be difficult.”

While Parisians and visitors are completely comfortable using Paris’ Metro system, L.A.’s is not nearly as popular.

Improving rider safety

With the recent uptick in violence and drug-use plaguing L.A.’s public transportation system, what is being done?

Bass said the city’s recently increased police presence and even equipped ambassadors with Narcan, and she said it’s working.

“Our ambassadors have saved 190 passengers,” she said. “I’m very happy that they did that, but I’m very sad that they even needed to because that means 190 people were overdosing on the busses, and last year in the first six months, we had 50 deaths.”

Despite the alarming statistics, Bass said Metro ridership is almost up to pre-pandemic levels.

“Metro’s ridership has now achieved No. 2 status in the country in terms of the most used transit system,” she said. “That’s New York and Los Angeles. We’re even beyond Chicago. Safety always has to be number one.”

The Olympics can give a city like L.A. a lot of benefits. Bass hopes those who visit the city in 2028 will see all of L.A., not just the popular tourist sites.

“I want people to know where Little Bangladesh is, Little Armenia, Ethiopia, Chinatown … our businesses, our small businesses, our small mom-and-pop restaurants, that they have a share in this as well,” said Bass.

Tackling homelessness

Another major concern is the issue of homelessness in the city.

Bass was frank when discussing the topic, saying the reason she ran for mayor in the first place is to solve this exact issue.

“We don’t need to build a major stadium. We have all of the stadiums built. What we do need to build is housing so our people are not on the street,” she said.

“I don’t want the world to see this from the nation’s second largest city, with an economy bigger than many countries … our city, and we want the world to see Los Angeles at its best.”

Four years is not a lot of time to conquer these enormous issues, but if we look at the positive, if we are successful, there will be far reaching benefits that will go far beyond 2028.