Hollywood Boulevard – a globally popular tourist attraction that has been the site of many traffic accidents – will undergo a major revamp in hopes of making it safer for pedestrians and bicyclists while revitalizing businesses along the boulevard, Los Angeles city officials and business leaders have announced.
Dubbed “Access to Hollywood,” the project will focus on a 3.6-mile stretch that will include removing some car lanes to install protected bike lanes and dedicated bus lanes, improving crosswalks and widening sidewalks. One hope among proponents is that the changes will provide more places for outdoor dining.
The bike lanes will be installed starting at La Brea Avenue on the border of West Hollywood and ending at Fountain Avenue in Silver Lake.
Bus lanes will be added to Hollywood Boulevard between Orange Drive near the TCL Chinese Theatre and Gower Street, the eastern end of the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
L.A. City Councilmembers Hugo Soto-Martinez and Nithya Raman will make a “major announcement” about mobility/transportation upgrades to Hollywood Boulevard during a press conference on Thursday, March 21, 2024. (Courtesy Illustration)
The project means dramatic changes on Hollywood Boulevard for residents and workers who drive along this key rush-hour route.
Most of this segment of Hollywood Boulevard will lose one car lane in each direction, according to Nick Barnes-Batista, a spokesperson for Los Angeles City Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez, who represents that part of Hollywood. In addition, 216 street parking spaces will be removed.
Supporters say there are ample parking spaces in nearby lots that are underutilized.
“This project is about making our community safer and transforming how residents, workers, and visitors use Hollywood Boulevard, ” Soto-Martínez said in a statement. “We know that if people come here, they will eat here, they will shop here, and they will spend their money here. By building Hollywood around people instead of cars, we can revitalize this iconic destination.”
But some who live in the neighborhood are concerned about how these changes might impact traffic on nearby streets and want more opportunities for community input.
L.A. City Councilmembers Hugo Soto-Martinez and Nithya Raman will make a “major announcement” about mobility/transportation upgrades to Hollywood Boulevard during a press conference on Thursday, March 21, 2024. (Courtesy Illustration)
Colter Carlisle, vice president of the East Hollywood Neighborhood Council, said discussions he’s had with members of his neighborhood council and other neighborhood councils in or around Hollywood suggest there’s overall support for the project because it aims to make the neighborhood more pedestrian- friendly as well as reducing traffic accidents.
Neighborhood councils are municipal bodies whose members are elected by their communities to represent their interests in an advisory capacity to City Hall officials. Although he said he’s had conversations with other neighborhood council members, the East Hollywood resident was speaking for himself when contacted by the Los Angeles Daily News.
Although Carlisle — who doesn’t own a car and usually walks or takes transit — said it appears most people support the project, some worry about the potential impact to nearby streets such as Sunset Boulevard, about two blocks south of Hollywood Boulevard, or Santa Monica Boulevard, a bit further south, as well as the side streets.
The concern is that traffic will increase on these streets as drivers find ways to avoid Hollywood Boulevard’s reduced lanes for cars.
Carlisle said he wants to make sure the changes coming to Hollywood Boulevard are carefully thought through.
“If we don’t do this in the smartest way possible, it can threaten other projects in the future,” he said.
He also expressed concern that there hasn’t been enough public outreach. He said that when he asked some businesses along Hollywood Boulevard what they thought of the project a few weeks ago, many were unaware of the plans.
Discussions about redesigning Hollywood Boulevard began under Mitch O’Farrell, the city councilmember who represented District 13 before Soto-Martinez. This project, or an iteration of it, began in 2019, according to Barnes-Batista.
Barnes-Batista said designs for the project are still being tweaked and that city officials plan to hold a townhall meeting next month to solicit further community input.
He said staff from the Los Angeles Department of Transportation had previously reached out to the four voter-elected neighborhood councils which represent areas that would be immediately impacted, and the plan is to meet again with those four neighborhood councils before plans are finalized. In addition, LADOT staff reached out to at least two local business groups, visited 201 businesses last October and received survey responses back from 64 of those businesses, he said.
Construction is expected to start in the fall and be completed in early 2025, according to Barnes-Batista.
The $8 million investment will be funded primarily through Metro’s Active Transportation Program.
The stretch of Hollywood Boulevard that will undergo renovation is part of the city’s High Injury Network, which identifies streets with a high volume of traffic incidents. According to the city’s transportation department, 6% of city streets account for 70% of deaths and severe injuries to pedestrians.
A survey by the transportation department found that 87% of respondents said improving safety along Hollywood Boulevard is very important. Seventy-six percent said cars moving at high speeds along the boulevard made them feel unsafe.
Kathleen Rawson, president and CEO of The Hollywood Partnership, the area’s business improvement district, said in a statement that it’s essential to adapt to changing needs in the community.
“With all the private real estate developments in the pipeline, we owe it to our current and future residents, businesses, and visitors to ensure the public realm complements the private experience,” she said. “The environment must be active, pleasant, and easily accessible for all users. The ‘Access to Hollywood’ project is a significant step forward in our ongoing journey to revitalize Hollywood.”
A representative for the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce also attended Thursday’s press conference.
Proponents expect that by taking away car lanes, in addition to other traffic-calming measures, the project will slow traffic and result in an increase in travel time of one to five minutes per mile. Barnes-Batista said a five-minute increase in commute times would occur during peak rush hour and it might be a one-minute increase at other times.
A center turn lane will be added along most of the corridor to help keep traffic moving and to allow ambulances, fire trucks and police cars to get by.
“The center turn lane should actually improve emergency response time,” Barnes-Batista said.
Councilmember Nithya Raman, whose council district is next to Soto-Martínez’s district and also has Hollywood Boulevard running through it, said the Access to Hollywood project is “delivering the kind of transformative investments that Angelenos have been asking for, helping us improve transit travel times and creating a safer environment for all, whether they are walking, biking or driving.”
Thursday’s announcement followed the recent passage of Measure HLA, which voters in L.A. approved by a roughly 2-to-1 vote. The measure calls for adding bike and bus lanes and widening sidewalks in neighborhoods throughout L.A., in hopes of making streets safer for pedestrians and bicyclists.
Measure HLA was opposed by the city’s firefighter’s union, which raised concerns that the loss of car lanes could increase emergency response times.
The head of the firefighter’s union did not respond to a message Thursday asking what the group thinks about the Hollywood Boulevard project.
The Access to Hollywood street improvement project is part of a larger effort to revitalize Hollywood. Last month, the City Council approved $1 million to fund more public restrooms and a visitor information center to support tourism and economic development.