LOS ANGELES (KABC) — There is no doubt that Los Angeles has experienced incredible changes and growth since the city last hosted the Olympic Games over 40 years ago.

Rather than seeing this as a challenge, organizers and elected officials view the 2028 Games as a tough deadline for expanding and completing ambitious transportation projects.

These include modernizing LAX airport, expanding the city’s subway network, and creating bike and bus lanes to connect LA County like never before and link the city’s existing sports and entertainment venues to all parts of the city.

“For us, it’s about what kind of transportation improvements we can implement today that will benefit the Olympics and last after the Olympics,” said Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins. “Integrated ticketing means that when you buy your event ticket, you can also buy your transit ticket at the same time. Because there are no cars, as a spectator you can’t drive to any of the venues. You have to use public transportation, walk, bike or get dropped off.”

You read that right.

Parts of the car-dependent LA will car-free during the 2028 Games to avoid a traffic nightmare.

Casey Wasserman, chairman of LA 2028 and CEO of Wasserman, said the Department of Transportation is in the process of helping the city procure more than 3,000 buses for the games.

“The unique thing about the Olympics is that if you can set up the rules for traffic, fans and commerce differently than you would on a normal day in Los Angeles, you can solve a lot of problems for 17 days,” he explained. “The starting point is that we put most of the fans who drive to the games on buses. We put all the athletes on buses, all the officials and the press on buses. People don’t remember that in 1984, Tom Bradley was only delivered by truck between midnight and 5 a.m. Now imagine the city of LA without trucks.”

What are No-Build Olympics?

LA 2028 is a “no-build” Olympics, meaning it will use the city’s existing venues with some temporary structures.

However, no new stadiums or accommodations will be built specifically for the games. The thousands of athletes from over 206 nations and territories will be housed in UCLA’s dormitories in Westwood.

“Our athletes are going to love it,” said Janet Evans, four-time Olympic swimming champion and chief athlete of the LA 2028 organizing committee. “Selfishly, there are two 50-meter pools that I can see from the hill where the athletes will be housed, so our aquatics people will be happy. The food is incredible. UCLA is an incredible place for our village. It was built specifically for students and houses 16,000 students a year, but it all works.”

READ MORE | How the construction-free Olympics could cut costs as LA prepares to host in 2028

Evans said that 90 percent of all athletes who compete in the Olympics and Paralympics do not win medals and that much of their experience takes place in the Olympic Village.

“The athletes are the biggest stakeholders of the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” she said. “What is their transportation like? What does their village look like and feel like? What does the food taste like? What are the venues? What are the volunteers like when the athletes get to the venues? Do they show them the way to their field of play?”

But it’s not just about the time before the games.

Mayor Karen Bass expressed hope that the Olympics will leave a lasting legacy that will benefit LA for decades to come.

“I would like to continue Mayor Bradley’s legacy,” she said. “Forty years later, the city still benefits from the games. I think many Los Angeles residents don’t know about LA84, an organization that was founded after 1984 and funds youth sports, especially in inner cities.”

LA 2028 has already donated $160 million to the Department of Recreation and Parks for youth sports. The goal is to make 2028 as lucrative as 1984 and establish its own foundation.

The 1984 Olympic Games are generally considered to be the most financially successful games in modern Olympic history.

“Even 40 years ago, there was a lot of hesitation about the games, and one of our biggest fears was traffic,” Bass said. “It turns out that under Mayor Bradley’s leadership, everything was so well organized, and when you think about it, 40 years ago we didn’t have nearly the technology we have today. There was no such thing as remote work. We didn’t have personal computers.”

Bass expects that (similar to what happened during the pandemic) remote working will be used as a means to avoid traffic problems during the 2028 Games.