LA City Council approves $129,000 to remove graffiti from Sixth Street Bridge

LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles City Council approved $129,000 in funding Friday to remove graffiti and provide other maintenance efforts on the Sixth Street Bridge.

The amount is a decrease from the originally proposed amount of $353,000, which the council's Budget and Finance Committee slashed last month due to the bridge seeing fewer incidents of graffiti in recent weeks.

Crews spent an average of 14 1/2 hours combined each day in August removing graffiti from the bridge, down from an average of 23 total hours worked per day in July, city staff said at an Aug. 22 committee meeting.

The bridge opened July 10 to much fanfare, which was soon overshadowed by those who came to perform street takeovers, spinouts and other activities blocking traffic, which resulted in several closures.

However, officials have indicated in recent weeks that such activity on the bridge has decreased as more time has passed since it opened.

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Last month, the city council asked the city attorney to prepare an ordinance prohibiting people from conducting street takeovers, defacing the bridge and accessing areas outside its fencing.

While the committee approved the funding unanimously, council members expressed concern over a disproportionate amount of funds going to a single bridge, with graffiti being a citywide issue.

"We want to obviously maintain this shiny new penny, but not at the expense of affecting service in (other districts)," Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez said.

"I want to make sure that we're being mindful and attentive to the needs of every other part of the city, not just this one particular area."

Councilman Paul Krekorian, the committee chair, signaled an openness to discussing alternative measures of funding to maintain the bridge, stressing the recommended funds were only a short-term solution.