A portion of Hollywood Boulevard has received new, protected bike lanes as Los Angeles tries to improve pedestrian safety, officials announced Thursday.
The 2.1-mile stretch of the roadway between Virgil Avenue and Gower Street replaced on-street parking with protected bike lanes as part of the “Access to Hollywood” plan.
Los Angeles City Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez whose district includes parts of Hollywood said enhancing pedestrian and cyclists’ safety is urgent as Hollywood Boulevard is on the “high injury network.”
“Traffic violence is the leading cause of deaths of kids in the city, so we are making Hollywood safer by redesigning the street layout to decrease speeding, (giving) people more options to get around the city, and just (making) it much more livable,” Soto-Martinez said.
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The plan will also add bike lanes from La Brea Avenue on the border of West Hollywood to Fountain Avenue in Silver Lake.
Bus lanes are expected to be placed from Orange Drive to Gower Street, with the aim of increasing public transit efficiency, reliability and giving Angelenos more travel options.
“We're going to improve another 1.5 miles from Gower all the way to Orange with wider sidewalks, al fresco dining on the whole boulevard,and new public transit options,” Soto-Martinez said.
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.
The street improvements were necessitated by alarming statistics of traffic violence along Hollywood Boulevard, officials said.
According to a survey conducted by the DOT for the Hollywood Blvd Safety and Mobility Project, about 87% of respondents said that improving safety on Hollywood Boulevard is very important to them, while 76% said that cars traveling at high speeds make them feel unsafe along the corridor.
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.
City News Service contributed to this report.
