Brief

Councilmember Ysabel Jurado, seconded by Imelda Padilla, introduced a motion on June 23, 2026, to increase bus service in the Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles areas. The file references a cold storage warehouse fire and involvement of the Department of Transportation. The motion is currently pending in the Transportation Committee with no further action since its initial referral.

Full summary

On June 17, 2026, a fire broke out at a large cold storage warehouse in Boyle Heights, sending a substantial smoke plume across Boyle Heights and neighboring communities. Although a shelter-in-place order was subsequently lifted, public health agencies continued advising residents to limit outdoor exposure while emergency response and recovery remained active. The scale of the incident prompted Mayor Karen Bass to declare a Local Emergency and Governor Gavin Newsom to proclaim a State of Emergency for Los Angeles County on June 20, 2026. In response, Councilmember Ysabel Jurado introduced this motion on June 23, 2026, seconded by Councilmember Imelda Padilla, arguing that transit-dependent residents face a particular public health burden during the emergency. Seniors, students, workers, people with disabilities, and families without vehicles must wait outdoors for buses, extending their exposure to unhealthy air. The motion specifically targets the DASH Boyle Heights/East LA route, which serves the neighborhoods most affected by the fire, and directs the Los Angeles Department of Transportation to increase buses and drivers on that route so service runs every 10 to 15 minutes Monday through Saturday. A second directive in the motion instructs LADOT to implement the updated frequency immediately and maintain it until the emergency declaration has been lifted, rather than waiting for a standard service-change process. This urgency framing is central to the motion's rationale: faster buses mean shorter outdoor waits, which means less smoke exposure for riders who have no alternative to public transit. The motion was referred to the Transportation Committee on the same day it was introduced and remains pending there. No committee hearing, vote, or council action has been recorded since the referral. The file is open and will expire on June 23, 2028, if no further action is taken.

Activity (1)

• 2026-06-23 Motion referred to Transportation Committee.

Documents (1)

• 2026-06-23 Motion · motion