By Andrew Sachs, CAPP
Parkonomics has published a five-part investigative series examining the transportation infrastructure investments tied to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
The series, co-authored by Andrew Sachs, CAPP and Kevin Bopp with original interviews featuring Frank Ching of LA Metro, applies a mobility economics framework to evaluate whether LA’s $26 billion in Olympic-adjacent transportation spending will produce lasting value or follow the pattern of past host cities.
The investigation examines the failure patterns of Athens (2004), Rio (2016), Montreal (1976), and Sochi (2014), analyzes the conditions that made Barcelona (1992) the only Olympic transportation success, and delivers a decision-by-decision implementation blueprint identifying the specific officials, deadlines, and accountability mechanisms needed to protect the public investment.
Key findings include a 172% average cost overrun rate for Summer Olympics since 1960, a diagnostic framework (the “Tuesday Test”) for evaluating whether infrastructure will serve lasting demand, and an accountability scorecard tracking progress on eight critical decisions — five of which have not been started.
The series originated from research conducted for Urban Land Magazine and features interactive data visualizations and source documentation.
Read the complete series at: parkonomics.co/la-2028-olympics-series/
Andrew Sachs, CAPP, is the President of Gateway Parking Services. Andrew can be reached at andrew@gpsparking.com.