Vacationers flock to Hollywood Boulevard by the hundreds of thousands yearly hoping to glimpse a star and expertise glamour, however what they get is a gritty thoroughfare with few timber, crumbling curbs and streetlights that don’t work.
The storied boulevard — house to the Academy Awards, TCL Chinese language Theatre and the Stroll of Fame — is getting a makeover. Plans are underway to revamp a 3.6-mile stretch of Hollywood Boulevard, eliminating two visitors lanes alongside many of the route, including bicycle lanes and widening sidewalks, the place individuals can linger and restaurant-goers can dine.
And the transfer could also be a step towards a pedestrian-only boulevard, an concept that has lengthy been floated.
“This challenge is about making our group safer and reworking how residents, staff and guests use Hollywood Boulevard, “ stated Los Angeles Metropolis Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez forward of saying the challenge on the nook of Hollywood and Vine Avenue on Wednesday morning.
Plans have been underway for years to enhance the boulevard, however this can sew collectively two completely different efforts and modify them, including bike lanes to the size of the roadway and eliminating about 216 parking areas. It’s going to additionally add a bit greater than a mile of bus lanes. The goal is to create a hall the place individuals don’t wish to drive their vehicles, as a substitute opting to walk or pedal by means of.
“We all know that if individuals come right here, they’ll eat right here, they’ll store right here, and they’re going to spend their cash right here,” he stated. “By constructing Hollywood round individuals as a substitute of vehicles, we will revitalize this iconic vacation spot.”
However Hollywood, as a complete, has greater issues. The Stroll of Fame has been poked at because the “Worst Vacationer Attraction” by the bags storage firm Stasher. And, extra critically, the realm has been dogged by homelessness. The identical streets the place the glittery crimson carpet is rolled out for the Academy Awards can flip sketchy the remainder of the yr, with individuals in dangerous superhero costumes making an attempt to lure a couple of dollars from vacationers.
These messy issues aren’t one thing a planner can design out of the panorama, however Kathleen Rawson, president and chief govt officer of Hollywood Partnership, a enterprise enchancment district that represents 476 retailers within the space, stated that she’s hopeful these plans will sign a brand new period.
“We see this initiative as a turning level,” stated Rawson. From her workplace alongside the boulevard, she has witnessed one in every of Los Angeles’ most famed vacationer spots fall deeper into disrepair.
The tasks that the plan ties collectively are often called the Stroll of Fame Grasp Plan. First unveiled by Soto-Martinez’s predecessor, it’s 1.3 miles and runs from La Brea Avenue east to Gower Avenue. The plan was largely being carried out by the Bureau of Engineering.
The second challenge, a Imaginative and prescient Zero enchancment space, was being dealt with by the Los Angeles Division of Transportation. The two.3 miles between Gower and Lyman Place had been singled out as a result of it qualifies as a “high-injury community,” roads the place a disproportionate variety of visitors deaths and accidents happen. Between 2010 and 2019, 53 extreme and deadly collisions occurred on that stretch.
“What we’re trying ahead to essentially the most is having the ability to recapture among the house that’s being utilized by autos, to have or not it’s utilized by pedestrians and cyclists,” she stated. There’s speak of including posts that supply safety from visitors so the town can shut down streets for particular occasions.
“We all know that Hollywood Boulevard is likely one of the disappointing vacationer points of interest, due to its situation,” she stated. Funding {dollars} have poured into downtown, she stated, nevertheless it has been many years since Hollywood has seen main infrastructure funds. The partnership frequently dispatches cleaners who scrub down the bronze inlaid stars on the Stroll of Fame, restore lighting and sweep the streets.
The complete challenge is estimated to value about $8 million, and the realm west of Gower will nonetheless require environmental overview for options together with landscaping and a few sidewalk eating. That’s anticipated to be accomplished by 2026.
A lot of the redesign of the lanes, and even sidewalk widening, might be finished by subsequent yr.
The strategy has garnered critics. Early on, there was concern concerning the lack of parking areas, however Rawson stated that was largely resolved. Hollywood has quite a few present parking areas, together with greater than 3,000 on the Ovation Hollywood shopping center, previously Hollywood & Highland.
Nonetheless, some dislike the adjustments as a result of the mannequin can even gradual visitors, a tactic utilized by planners to scale back excessive speeds typically related to lethal crashes. The challenge is predicted to scale back automotive speeds alongside the strip by an estimated one to 5 minutes a mile.
“We’re extremely involved that, as we now have seen with different comparable tasks in L.A., this can have a damaging influence on response instances,” stated Chris LeGras, co-director of KeepLAMoving. The advocacy group has been a vocal opponent of so-called street diets, an strategy to avenue planning that has come into favor in recent times. LeGras stated failure to realize approval from native hearth companies earlier than constructing would violate native and state hearth codes.
Nick Barnes-Batista, a spokesperson for Soto-Martinez, stated the workplace consulted first responders on the plan.
