LA City Council backs report to erect fence to protect Hollywood Sign
The Los Angeles City Council has approved two separate reports calling for permanent fencing and the installation of a roundabout to address public safety on the hillside streets leading to the Hollywood sign.
On Tuesday, Aug. 22, the City Council unanimously approved a report calling for permanent replacement of temporary fencing along Mulholland Highway, beginning at Canyon Lake Drive and running along part of the Lake Hollywood Park perimeter east to Durand Drive, to deter motorists from stopping along the two-lane road.
The council also unanimously approved a report calling for installation of a traffic roundabout at the intersection of Canyon Lake and Mulholland to address safety issues.
“The Hollywood Sign is one of our most visited destinations not just in Council District Four, but really all of Los Angeles, and yet, even as tourism has grown, even as social media has brought so many more people to visit the sign for their own Instagram selfie and vacation travel rebounding dramatically after a break during COVID,” Councilmember Nithya Raman, who represents the Fourth District, said before the vote.
“We are seeing a huge influx of visitors traveling along narrow residential streets to get up-close views of the sign — something that these neighborhoods have faced for a long time, but that for me, since I’ve only been here for two-and-half years, I’m really seeing the full impact of this for the first time,” she added.
Raman said the motions take “two small steps” toward addressing street improvements, pedestrian safety and concerns from the community.
Raman also said her office will engage with the community to create a working group. Residents will provide feedback and help identify solutions for issues impacting the residential hillside streets that lead to the Hollywood sign.
The councilwoman said the city has not invested in significant infrastructure improvements in the hills to improve visitors’ experience, even though the city “depends on the Hollywood Sign for our tourism.”
“(I) look forward to working along with this council to ensure that we preserve Los Angeles as a premier tourist destination, while also minimizing the impacts to our heavily impacted neighborhoods,” Raman said.
The city’s Bureau of Engineering, with the assistance of the city administrative officer and other departments, will report within 60 days and 90 days, respectively, with a plan for permanent fencing and for the installation of the roundabout.
The Bureau of Engineering will also provide a plan with options to form a concrete parkway between the curb and sidewalk on all sections of Canyon Lake Drive from Arrowhead Drive to Mulholland Highway to reduce soil erosion and runoff, and to construct accessible loading zones on Canyon Lake Drive.
The reports will identify funding sources for the projects.