Compton City Officials: Acquired $8 Million Dollars for Street Improvements
February 10, 2022
By Betti Halsell
Staff Writer
Compton City officials cut the ribbon today, commemorating a series of ongoing street repair improvements, on Tuesday, February 8. Over $8 million has been expended throughout this set of street enhancements, that will restore a total of 7.8 miles of road.
The construction tractor "cut the ribbon" for the development and it was documented by multiple media platforms, including L.A. Sentinel's Live Stream recording on Instagram. After the press conference, the Mayor of Compton Emma Sharif shared her pride in the process of the new developments.
She stated, “We started this project November of 2021. After this street, we have several streets that we will be working on—we are working Alondra Boulevard, that's going to be done from the east all the way to west, which our city limit.” The mayor continued, “We got five different streets we are working on in this phase.”
Sharif expressed that she always saw this happening within her term, by stating, “This is what I foresaw coming—yes I did, because we were able to get funding for this and we actually came up with a way to get the funding for these streets.
We ended up with $37 million to do a total of 21 streets, this is the first phase of those 21 streets.”
Sharif was first elected to Compton City Council's fourth District in June of 2015. The councilwoman has proudly nurtured her children and engaged in the community for more than 20 years as a Compton native.
The mayor has always had a love for schools and community service, and she is accustomed to pulling in long hours to get the job done. Her dedication to learners became evident during her career as a public-school educator and a Compton Youth Development director.
Mayor Sharif is a strong advocate for academic achievement and total well-being after witnessing the necessity for more qualified and committed.
Other Councilmembers in attendance included Councilmember Michelle Chambers (District 1), Isaac Galvan (District 2), Councilmember Jonathan Bowers (District 3), Lillie Darden (District 4), and Interim City Manager Ronerick Simpson. The projected completion of the roads is by the summer of 2022.
As of July 2019, over 95,000 residents (about the seating capacity of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum) reside in the City of Compton, with over a quarter of that population being Black.
As of 2010, there are over 9,000 Compton natives per square mile. Several thousand businesses are minority-owned in Compton; it is safe to say all improvements will elevate all sectors of the city.