Following weeks of public engagement to discuss plans to enhance Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles city leaders announced measures Thursday to improve pedestrian safety and mobility options for the area.
At a Thursday morning news conference, City Council members Hugo Soto-Martinez and Nithya Raman, who represent the Hollywood area, announced bike lanes, bus lanes, wider sidewalks, and other safety improvements such as crosswalks, will be coming to Hollywood Boulevard. The city is aiming to install the improvements by early 2025.
“This project is about making our community safer and transforming how residents, workers and visitors use Hollywood Boulevard,” Soto-Martinez said in a statement.
He added, “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.”
Kathleen Rawson, the president and CEO of The Hollywood Partnership, joined city officials for the announcement. She called the project a “significant step forward in our ongoing journey to revitalize Hollywood.”
The plan known as “Access to Hollywood” would introduce bike lanes — the first-parking protected bike lanes in Soto-Martinez’ 13th District — from La Brea Avenue on the border of West Hollywood to Fountain Avenue in Silver Lake.
Bus lanes would be placed from Orange Drive to Gower Street, with the aim of increasing public transit efficiency, reliability and giving Angelenos more travel options.
A center turn lane will also be introduced along the majority of the stretch to help mitigate delays caused by turning movements, and make it easier for firefighters or police officers to respond to emergencies.
Councilwoman Raman, who represents the 4th District, said there are certain streets that tie her and Soto-Martinez’s districts together — but none as iconic as Hollywood Boulevard.
“With the rollout of the `Access to Hollywood’ project, which combined bus and bike lanes in central Hollywood and the Hollywood Boulevard Safety and Mobility Project, we are 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,” Raman said in a statement.
These street improvements were necessitated due to alarming statistics of traffic violence along Hollywood Boulevard, officials said. Hollywood Boulevard is part of the city’s “High Injury Network,” which represents 6% of city streets that account for 70% of deaths and severe injuries for people walking.
According to a survey conducted by the Los Angeles Department of Transportation for the Hollywood Blvd Safety and Mobility Project, about 87% of respondents said that improving safety on Hollywood Boulevard is very important to them and 76% said that cars traveling at high speeds make them feel unsafe along the corridor.
“Traffic conflicts are predictable and can be prevented,” Alfonso Directo Jr., advocacy director with the Alliance for Community Transit – Los Angeles (ACT-LA), said in a statement.
Studies show that frequent transit service made reliable by barrier protected bus lanes, bike lanes and walk-supportive infrastructure such as pedestrian scrambles save lives, he added.
The project was primarily funded by an $8 million investment by Metro’s Active Transportation Program. Officials noted the partnership between the city and Metro could serve as a model to implement Measure HLA, which was recently approved by voters in the March 5 election.
“Access to Hollywood” is part of a broader strategy in the coming years to revitalize Hollywood, officials said, as well as plans to increase shelter beds, improve the CIRCLE unarmed response program, building the first public bathrooms in Hollywood and help new businesses thrive in the area.
