L.A. unveils new bike lanes on Hollywood Blvd

New, protected bike lanes opened Thursday as part the first half of the "Access to Hollywood" plan, a group of measures intended to improve pedestrian safety and mobility options for the area.

Los Angeles City Council members Hugo Soto-Martinez and Nithya Raman, who represent the 13th and 4th Districts, respectively, encompassing areas of Hollywood, celebrated the opening of the lanes, which run along Hollywood Boulevard from Virgil Avenue to Gower Street.

The city leaders were joined by Laura Rubio-Cornejo, general manager of the L.A. Department of Transportation; and Michael Schneider, founder of Streets for All and a leader of the Yes on Measure HLA campaign.

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"By prioritizing safety along this iconic corridor, we're building Hollywood around people, and giving Hollywood Boulevard the remake it deserves," Soto-Martinez said in a statement.

The council announced the Access to Hollywood plan in March. The project will add new bike lanes, bus lanes, wider sidewalks and other safety improvements such as crosswalks on 2.1 miles of Hollywood Boulevard -- with a completion date of early 2025.

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.

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.

"There are certain streets that tie Council District 4 and Council District 13 together, but perhaps none as iconic as Hollywood Boulevard ," Raman said in a statement.

"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."

The street improvements were necessitated by 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 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.

"Access to Hollywood" is part of a broader strategy in the coming years to revitalize Hollywood, officials said -- along with plans to increase shelter beds, improve the CIRCLE unarmed response program, build the first public restrooms in Hollywood and help new businesses thrive in the area.

"It's great to see our city's mobility plan implemented on one of the most iconic streets in the world. Not only do these changes make it safer to walk or bike on Hollywood Blvd, they will also lead to increased foot traffic to local businesses," Schneider said in a statement.

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