This post was updated Sept. 30 at 12:14 a.m.

The city of Los Angeles is accelerating long-awaited sidewalk repairs in Westwood in time for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The city will fix uneven sidewalks and install missing curb ramps near apartments along Landfair Avenue, Midvale Avenue and Strathmore Drive from October 2026 to February 2028, according to program packages from the LA Bureau of Engineering. UCLA’s campus will serve as the Olympic and Paralympic Village for over 15,000 athletes and staff.

The LA City Council voted in April to allocate more than $5 million toward accelerated repairs ahead of the Olympic Games, according to city files.

Several other sidewalk repairs in Westwood have also been completed since May on Gayley, Levering and Weyburn Avenues.

[Related: Westwood sidewalk repairs will start this year, city says]

The city will pause major construction projects during and immediately before the Games to ensure clear streets, said Jacob Wasserman, research program manager at the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies.

Other Westwood construction projects ahead of the Olympic Games include the construction of the Metro D Line, which will run from downtown LA to Westwood, and the creation of several dedicated bike and bus lanes.

[Related: LA Metro connects downtown to Beverly Hills with new D Line subway extension]

Focusing repairs near Olympic venues could allow for the development of accessible routes across a large area rather than scattered spot repairs, said Connor Webb, the chair of the North Westwood Neighborhood Council’s transportation, environment and public space committee. Uneven sidewalks can cause water and trash to accumulate over time, Wasserman added.

“When you make accessibility improvements to the public realm, it benefits everyone,” Webb said. “That’s crucial to us that anyone can get around outside of a car in Westwood.”

But parts of the city that fall outside a mile of Olympic venues – such as areas in south and east LA with critical sidewalk damage – will still likely face long repair wait times, Wasserman said. This could prevent people from farther areas from traveling to Olympic venues, he added.

The LA City Clerk’s media relations did not respond in time to a request for comment on the Westwood repairs or wait time for other projects.

“That’s good for Westwood Village,” Wasserman said. “But think about places in LA that aren’t near (Olympic) sites, which have as bad or worse sidewalks.”

LA City’s backlog of sidewalk repairs grew since 1974 because of inadequate maintenance, according to a 2021 city report.

While anyone can submit a repair request, the city prioritizes requests based on several factors, including disability access requests and proximity to residential buildings or transit stops, Webb said. However, LA City will likely prioritize many areas in Westwood for the accelerated repairs, even if they are not at the top of that priority list, Wasserman said.

Paige Zwerner, the facilities commissioner for the Undergraduate Students Association Council, said while she is glad to see sidewalk repairs, she is frustrated the city did not speed up the fixes before preparing for the Olympic Games.

“Every student, regardless of their mobility needs and ability, they deserve access to the same areas, to the same buildings that those of us who are able-bodied have,” Zwerner said. “I can confidently say that it is a safety issue.”

Sidewalk repairs are crucial to providing access to public transportation, especially with the upcoming transit improvements for the Olympic Games, Webb said.

“As we wait for the D Line to come, also right around the Olympics, when that opens, making sure that there are safe and accessible ways to get there outside of cars is really important,” Webb said.