Los Feliz — A section of roadway through Griffith Park will be closed to cars starting next week. It’s part of a pilot program to find ways to reduce cut-through traffic and improve safety for pedestrians, cyclists and wildlife in the city’s largest park.
Starting June 27, the north end of Griffith Park Drive near the 134 Freeway will be closed to personal vehicles from Travel Town to the top of the hill near the Mount Hollywood Drive turnoff, according to information posted by the Recreation and Parks Department.
“If all goes well after a few weeks, it is anticipated that we will move to a permanent closure of this stretch of road,” said a posting on a NextDoor group by the Recreation and Parks Department. City of LA vehicles will still be accessing that stretch of roadway during this time.
Department officials did not return calls and emails for information about the closure and timeline for other possible traffic calming plans.
Closing the road was one of the recommendations in a study to improve safety and transportation on Crystal Springs and Griffith Park drives. That study was already underway when a 77-year-old cyclist was struck and killed by a driver on Crystal Springs Drive in April.
At the May meeting of the Griffith Park Advisory Board, the transportation consultants working on the study presented an overview of the problems on the two roads, including speeding and a lack of separation between motor vehicle traffic and pedestrian and bike paths. The study described the section of the upcoming road closure as a “conflict area” involving speeding drivers, cyclists and vehicles headed to the Griffith Park Composting Facility.
Photo by Connor Jalbert on Unsplash
