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The organisers of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics are planning a car-free event to combat the city’s notorious traffic jams and will encourage spectators to use public transport, a network of which will be developed, they announced on Saturday.
These will be “the Games without cars,” said the city’s mayor, Karen Bass, adding that measures will also be taken to support teleworking in a city that currently has around 3.8 million inhabitants, a figure that rises to 18 million if its outskirts are included.
“These ‘Car-Free Games’ will mean that all venues will be served by public transportation,” Mayor Bass said at a news conference. “To achieve this, we are building out our public transportation network.” Bass said the fleet of buses will be expanded by more than 3,000 buses from other regions of the United States.
The mayor assured that traffic jams will not be a problem in 2028, recalling the example of the previous Olympic Games organised in the city, in 1984.
“In 1984, Los Angeles residents were terrified of having terrible, terrible traffic jams. And we were shocked that we didn’t have them, when in 1984 we didn’t have the technology that we have today.”
“I think we can achieve car-free Games by encouraging people not to drive and to use public transport,” said the city councillor.
“We have learned from Covid that there are essential workers who must go to work. But if we limit ourselves to that, it will be much easier because we did it during the pandemic and people will have a recent reference to show that it is possible,” he added.
Karen Bass also said that steps will be taken to rehouse the city’s 75,000 homeless people.
“We will accommodate them in temporary shelters, address the reasons for their homelessness and then provide them with permanent shelters,” he promised.
“We don’t have the Eiffel Tower, but we do have the Hollywood sign. We have incredible locations and a magnificent setting,” said Casey Wasserman, president of the Los Angeles Games Organising Committee, referring to the influence of the French capital on the current Games.
The closing ceremony of Paris 2024 on Sunday will be the first opportunity for Los Angeles to showcase its Games.
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