Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said she is working to make the Summer Olympics car-free when the city hosts them in 2028.
“We’re already working to expand public transportation and create jobs to host a car-free Olympics,” she said in a statement Saturday. “This is a great achievement for Los Angeles. We’ve always loved the car, and we’re working to build a greener Los Angeles.”
Ahead of the Paris Olympics’ closing ceremony on Sunday, Bass is trying to address a major issue for the next Games: Los Angeles’ traffic problems.
Mayor Basu said the Olympic venues would be accessible only by public transport: the city would rent 3,000 buses from around the country and ask businesses to allow employees to work from home. The Associated Press reported.
“One of the goals of the Car-Free Olympics is to get people to stop driving,” Bass said.
Paris officials have been praised for the event’s accessibility, with nearly all venues reachable by public transport, the Associated Press reported.
Bass also highlighted Los Angeles’ efforts to invest in small businesses during the upcoming Games.
The mayor said the city plans to meet with major employers to discuss staggered work hours, but noted that “this is something that was done 40 years ago,” before today’s technology was created.
“I think that probably the workforce around the world, but particularly in our country, is working remotely right now,” she said. “So I think there are some employees that we could ask, ‘Can you work remotely for 17 days?'”
“We’ve already been through COVID, so it will be a lot easier for people to look to recent history for guidance on how to do that,” Bass said.
Bass, who would become Los Angeles’ first female mayor, is scheduled to receive the flag on Sunday from Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, who would also be the city’s first female mayor.
The Associated Press contributed.
