Carson council approves $147.9 million 2026-27 capital improvement program

The City Council approved a $147.9 million capital improvement program for the 2026-27 fiscal year last week, investing in Carson's roads, parks and digital infrastructure.

The CIP is made up of a mix of local funds and grants.

"The CIP helps the City plan, prioritize, fund and schedule projects that improve public infrastructure, enhance community facilities, support public safety and maintain essential city assets," said a staff report created by Public Works Director Arlington Rodgers. "Each year, the Public Works Department works collaboratively with all city departments to identify proposed capital projects and determine the scope, purpose, estimated costs and anticipated schedules for each project. This process allows the city to evaluate current infrastructure needs, operational priorities, regulatory requirements and long-term community goals when developing the annual CIP plan."

The CIP will invest millions of dollars into more than 60 projects citywide, with the largest investments, $101.5 million, going to roadway and traffic improvements.

Roadways

The biggest roadway effort is reconstructing the roads within the 157 Acres Project.

This is one of the largest tracts of undeveloped land in Los Angeles County and has stood vacant for more than six decades, since the closure of the Cal Compact Landfill. With a new developer, however, the city will finally get the 400,000 square-foot luxury outlet mall that has been in the works for years - and it is time for Carson to keep up its end of the bargain.

"There was a cooperative agreement from the very beginning with the CRA, CAM-Carson and the city," City Attorney Sunny Soltani said during the Tuesday, June 16, council meeting, "where the city agreed to provide the funding for building the streets because traditionally, cities provide the funding for that."

The city will invest more than $35 million to reconstruct the roadways within the 157 Acres parcel.

Other roadway reconstruction and improvements include $12.8 million for the widening of Sepulveda Boulevard to include three lanes of traffic each way; $7.7 million for the roadway reconstruction and concrete replacement along Avalon Boulevard, between Lomita Boulevard and 223rd Street; $6.2 million to fix up Main Street, between Lomita Boulevard and 228th Street; $2 million to reconstruct Lomita Boulevard; $2.4 million to rehabilitate University Drive; close to $900,000 for improvements to Central Avenue; and $500,000 for citywide concrete repair.

More than $9 million of CIP funds will go to traffic signal upgrades at more than a dozen intersections throughout the city. An additional $1.5 million will be used to develop "intelligent transit systems" throughout the city, which are intended to improve traffic flow on Carson Street from the 405 Freeway to Figueroa Street, and improve ITS infrastructure leading to the Dignity Health Sports Complex.

"The projects will implement Intelligent Transportation Systems," City Engineer Gilbert Marquez said in a written statement, "such as new traffic controllers, high speed communications, and monitoring cameras, to enhance traffic operations on major streets and corridors."

For fiscal year 2026-27, the city will also invest $3.8 million to comply with the South Bay Local Travel Network, which is intended to create a new route of streets designed for neighborhood electric vehicles, such as golf carts, e-bikes, non-motorized bikes, e-scooters and other zero-emissions, slow-speed mobility devices.

About $1.2 million will go toward Carson's Safe Streets for All project, which includes the Safe Routes to School pilot program, a neighborhood traffic engagement pilot program and the a traffic safety implementation committee.

Additional roadway investments include $4 million for new citywide archways and wayfinding signs; $1.3 million for median landscaping along Avalon Boulevard, Carson Street and 223rd Street, between Lucerne and Alameda streets; $500,000 for fence replacement on Avalon Boulevard, between Turmont Street and University Drive; and $200,000 for a citywide traffic analysis ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Parks

The second-highest investment in the CIP budget is for improving and maintaining parks.

Citywide, $5.5 million will go to replacing all rubber play surfaces and structures, installing new marquee park signs, and replacing all athletic field and walkway lights.

Mills Park will receive the most funding, $4.4 million, to renovate the recreation center; install new shade structures, new unisex bathrooms and a new monument sign; remove the wading pool; and make improvements to concrete, accessibility, landscaping, irrigation and utilities.

Carriage Crest Park will receive $3.7 million to install a traffic signal at the entrance; refurbish the main building; and install a new playground, fitness equipment, ballfields with security lights, basketball courts and a walking loop. Funding will also go toward developing 10 acres the city has leased from the Sanitation District. That project will include extending the parking lot, creating a dog park and constructing new restrooms.

Additional investments include $2 million to install solar panels at Vets Park and $1.4 million to expand the Friendship Mini Park. There will be $500,000 of roof repairs at Foisia Park and Calas Park. Foisia Park will receive an additional $600,000 to renovate the pool building and convert the current handball courts to pickleball courts.

Bikeways

The 2026-27 CIP budget allocates $11.8 million to install bike lanes and paths throughout the city. This includes upgrades to curb ramps citywide, designing and constructing bike lanes on Figueroa, Main and 223rd streets, and Avalon Boulevard; installing a bike path along the Dominguez Channel, from Main Street to Carson Street; and putting in a 1.5-mile bike path on Santa Fe Avenue, from Del Amo Boulevard to Warnock Way.

Funding will also go toward creating Carson's Master Bicycle Action Plan.

"Carson's Master Bicycle Plan will serve as an informative guide when developing a framework that improves the city's physical bicycle system and reduces transportation inequities," says the project description on the city's CIP dashboard. "With 18.7 sq miles of grid street networks (including California State University, Dominguez Hills), connecting Carson's communities can enable widespread mode shifts to bicycling."

Stormwater

The city will also spend $9.2 million on stormwater projects throughout the city. The majority of that money, $5.9 million, will be for the Calas Stormwater Infiltration and Water Quality Improvement Project.

That project is intended to remove pollutants like zinc and bacteria that are present in stormwater, and reduce additional runoff into the Dominguez Channel, enhancing the groundwater basin, which will allow for increased municipal and domestic supply.

Stormwater runoff will be diverted from storm drains both northeast and southwest of Calas Park. The captured water will flow through new drain pipes and a "pretreatment" conveyance system that will remove any debris and sediment. Then, the water will be collected in a vault beneath the baseball fields, where it will be infiltrated through the soil into the existing groundwater.

To comply with the Regional Water Quality Control Board, the city will invest $2.5 million to install 12 tree well filtration systems in the parkway along Main Street and Gardena Boulevard to capture stormwater from the streets and filter the water to remove pollutants before they discharge into the Dominguez Channel. As part of this project, one set of dry wells will also be installed in Carson Park to capture water from Main Street, which will help replenish the groundwater table.

The CIP budget also allocates $373,234 to operate and maintain the stormwater capture facility at Carriage Crest Park and $304,234 for a Dominguez Channel Estuary assessment led by the Los Angeles County Flood Control District.

"The study will focus on characterizing surficial sediments within the Dominguez Channel Estuary to understand the extent of pollutant concentrations and their effects on the habitat," Marquez said in a written statement. "Samples will be collected throughout the estuary and analyzed for potential pollutants. The results will be used to determine a future plan for potential remediation to improve water and sediment quality in the estuary."

Facilities

Finally, the CIP budget allocates $3.4 million for improvements to city facilities, including concrete repairs at all city pools, renovations to the Community Center courtyard and parking lot, and installing electric vehicle chargers at City Hall, Foisia Park and Carriage Crest Park.

The Veterans Park Sports Complex will receive $2 million for a new HVAC system, a backup generator and solar panels. City Hall will receive $1.5 million for a heat exchanger replacement and restroom renovations. A total of $2 million will also be used for roof repairs on the Public Works building, the Community Services building and the Warehouse and Fleet Mechanics building.

The biggest project, however, will be constructing the $5.7 million Victoria Street Transit Center in partnership with Cal State Dominguez Hills. This major transit center will be located on what is currently campus sidewalks and roadways adjacent to Victoria Street. The transit center is part of Carson's efforts to prepare for the Summer Olympics.

Other CIP investments include $6.3 million to expand the citywide fiber optic network and $401,189 to implement the city's Urban Forestry Master Plan.

The Carson CIP dashboard, which tracks all of the city's capital improvement program projects, can be found at arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/8130e890cbf242158dbf0cfce792fc20#.

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