A section of Hollywood Boulevard has received new protected bike lanes as part of Los Angeles’ efforts to improve pedestrian safety, officials announced Thursday.
As part of the Access to Hollywood plan, the 3.4-kilometer stretch of road between Virgil Avenue and Gower Street replaced curbside parking with protected bike lanes.
Los Angeles City Councilman Hugo Soto-Martinez, whose district includes parts of Hollywood, said pedestrian and cyclist safety urgently needs to be improved, as Hollywood Boulevard is one of the city’s “most injured.”
“Traffic violence is the leading cause of death among children in the city, so we’re making Hollywood safer by redesigning the streets to reduce speeding, give people more options to get around the city and just make the city a more livable place,” Soto-Martinez said.
The plan also calls for bike lanes from La Brea Avenue on the West Hollywood border to Fountain Avenue in Silver Lake, and bus lanes from Orange Drive to Gower Street to increase the efficiency and reliability of public transit and provide more travel options for Los Angeles residents.
“We will improve another 1.5 miles from Gower to Orange, with wider sidewalks, outdoor dining along the entire boulevard and new public transportation,” Soto-Martinez said.
A center turning lane will also be installed along most of the route to reduce delays caused by turning maneuvers and to make it easier for firefighters and police officers to respond in the event of an emergency.
The road improvements were necessary due to alarming statistics about traffic violence along Hollywood Boulevard, officials said. Hollywood Boulevard is part of the city’s “High Injury Network,” which covers 6% of the city’s streets and accounts for 70% of pedestrian deaths and serious injuries.
According to a survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for the Hollywood Boulevard Safety and Mobility Project, approximately 87% of respondents said that improving safety on Hollywood Boulevard was very important to them, while 76% said they felt unsafe on the road because of the high speed of cars.
The project was funded primarily by an $8 million investment from Metro’s Active Transportation Program. Officials noted that the partnership between the city and Metro could serve as a model for implementing the HLA measure, which voters recently approved in the March 5 election.
City News Service contributed to this report.
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