L.A. City Councilmember Paul Krekorian recently announced that a plan to widen Burbank Boulevard will shift instead to widening sidewalks and adding other pedestrian safety features.
Last May, Streetsblog reported on the plan to widen part of Burbank Boulevard in the L.A. City neighborhood of North Hollywood. The proposed $11 million project extended 0.7 mile - from Lankershim Boulevard to Cleon Avenue – just a block north of the North Hollywood Metro B and G Line station. The existing street width varies somewhat, but mostly the roadway width would have gone from around 50 feet to 74 feet.
Earlier this week, Councilmember Krekorian announced that he had secured changes to the Burbank Boulevard project in order to reduce speeding and increase safety. From that announcement:
Councilmember Paul Krekorian has blocked a twenty-year-old street widening plan on Burbank Boulevard, and in its place he has secured significant traffic safety improvements that will reduce speeds and protect motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists. The original city plan for Burbank Boulevard, which was designed and funded long before Krekorian was elected, was to widen the street between Lankershim and Cleon and add vehicular travel lanes to increase traffic speeds. Krekorian and community members objected to the plan, noting that speeding in the area already creates too much danger. Unfortunately, the appropriated funding for the project was specifically tied to “congestion relief” and thus appeared to require widening.
Undeterred, Krekorian worked closely with city transportation planners and Metro staff to change the scope of the project to promote greater traffic safety while still retaining eligibility for the funding. Through Krekorian’s efforts, the revised project now will widen sidewalks, add left turn phasing signals, and provide pedestrian-oriented safety features, including curb extensions, new crosswalks, enhanced lighting, and flashing beacons. Increasing pedestrian safety is especially important in an area that lies in close proximity to the North Hollywood transit hub and the NoHo Arts District, one of the most walkable areas in the city.
The revised Burbank Boulevard project will be presented and discussed at the March 9 6:30 p.m. meeting of the North Hollywood Neighborhood Council. Agenda will be posted at the NC calendar webpage soon.
This marks the second multi-million dollar road widening project that Krekorian has announced, then wisely rolled back. In late 2020, Krekorian canceled an announced widening of Magnolia Boulevard.
