The houses in Hancock Park may be pristine, but the streets are not. Like many other L.A. neighborhoods, tony HP is suffering through rutted boulevards—but there’s finally movement on a solution.
Councilman David Ryu is spearheading studies of two damaged street segments to gauge longterm repairs, not just cheap band-aid fixes, according to Park Labrea News. Once the cost estimates are in hand, Ryu’s office can move forward on a permanent citywide fund to fix streets with concrete, rather than asphalt.
Little known fact: most streets are patched with asphalt, which lasts about three decades. When streets are instead paved with concrete, they can last seven decades.
With the city now committing $100 million to battle homelessness, it’s not clear where the money will come from for all that concrete. But at least there’s momentum to street repair that’s more forward-thinking and, possibly, cost-effective. According to Angieslist, a basic asphalt driveway costs between $2 to $5 per square foot, while a concrete driveway runs $3 to $10 per square foot. While the latter is more expensive, the longer-lasting concrete may be cheaper in the long-run.
