Hollywood Boulevard Redesign Project Launched For One Of City's Busiest Commercial Zones

HOLLYWOOD, CA — City officials on Friday launched an wide-reaching effort to increase safety and connectivity on a busy stretch of Hollywood Boulevard that runs from Los Feliz to Central Hollywood.

The Hollywood Boulevard Safety and Mobility Project targets a two-mile stretch of the boulevard between Lyman Place in Los Feliz/East Hollywood and Gower Street, a few blocks east from Hollywood and Vine.

The stretch is one of the busiest commercial corridors in the city. Between 2010 and 2019 some 56 people died or were severely injured along the stretch, according to Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez's office.

The project has five goals, centered around making the street more functional and safe for all types of road users.

• Reducing fatalities and severe injury from car crashes
• Boosting connectivity to jobs, social services, transit and community resources
• Supporting sustainable modes of transportation, like biking, walking and public transit
• Increasing access to the area's three Metro B (Red) line stations
• Facilitating discussion around the upcoming redesign of the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Councilmembers Nithya Raman and Soto-Martínez, whose districts include parts of the boulevard, are encouraging residents to participate in the planning process.

"Our major roads, like Hollywood Boulevard, are places that draw people for work, shopping, and errands, dining, school and living a full life — it is unconscionable that they are also some of our most dangerous roads in the city," Raman said.

The council members said they'll work with city transit officials to get the project finished quickly. LADOT officials say community outreach and design for the project will be completed by this winter and the plans will be implemented next year.

"Traffic violence is the number one killer of children in our city," Soto-Martínez said in a statement. "This project can save lives and make Hollywood safer for the entire community. We send our sincere gratitude to LADOT and our community partners who are working tirelessly to bring this project to fruition."

City News Service contributed to this report.