LADOT releases First Edition of Bilingual Glossary of Transportation Terms
By Connie Llanos, LADOT Interim General Manager
On behalf of the City of Los Angeles Department of Transportation and our partners, I am proud to present the first edition of our Bilingual Glossary of Transportation Terms.
As the first generation daughter of immigrants, like so many kids in our City, I grew up translating for my parents. I remember vividly the frustration they felt when we couldn’t find a Spanish speaker at the doctor’s office, or a school meeting, and how it limited their ability to advocate for themselves or me and my brother. Language is one of several barriers community members face when they interact with government agencies. We also know that as government agencies - especially in transportation - we often communicate in technical terms and acronyms that community members don’t understand. And yet, we know that our projects and programs are better when all voices have an opportunity to be heard.
Created in close collaboration with local partners and advocates, this glossary translates some of our most common transportation terms into English and Spanish, helping us better communicate with a large proportion of our community. This will help ensure that residents across the city are familiar with the services we provide, and can request them comfortably, to best meet the needs of their neighborhood.
This glossary helps create a shared vocabulary, which is an important step in acknowledging our commitment to community engagement. By providing residents with easy to read definitions and explanations of common project terms, we will make conversations more meaningful - and make it easier for communities to hold us accountable. And we are committed to expanding the glossary to include more languages, and be more inclusive of our City’s rich diversity.
I want to express my deep gratitude to LA Walks and their Safe Street Promotores, who worked with more than 35 local residents to ensure this document was useful and accessible. These community leaders were generous with their time, their feedback fundamentally shaped this document, and it would not have been possible without their expertise and support.