DISTRICT 4 Initiatives
Parks
Improving Safety & Mobility In Griffith Park
Our vision is simple: A Griffith Park where there are fewer cars, where the remaining cars are being driven at slower speeds, and where there are more separated and protected spaces dedicated to active transportation.
In June 2022, our office partnered with the Department of Recreation and Parks and consulting firm Kimley-Horn to launch a Griffith Park Safety & Active Transportation Improvements Feasibility Study. The report evaluated current conditions on Griffith Park Drive, Zoo Drive, Western Heritage Way, and Crystal Springs Drive and proposes short, medium, and long term improvements to improve safety and increase access for all. As of June 9th, 2023, the report is completed and a link to it can be found below.
We also worked with Assemblymember Laura Friedman, who helped us secure $4M in state funds to help fund recommendations from this report and other needed improvements in and around Griffith Park.
Griffith Park Drive Closure
The Griffith Park Safety & Active Transportation Improvements Feasibility Study identified the closure of a ⅔ mile stretch of Griffith Drive as the first short term safety improvement. After a successful pilot study in the summer of 2022, the Board Department of Recreation and Parks Commissioners voted unanimously to permanently close Griffith Park Drive from Travel Town to Mt. Hollywood Drive to personal vehicle use. This is the first step toward increasing safety for everyone who uses the park, allowing people walking, people biking, and equestrians to more safely enjoy areas of Griffith Park and for us to reduce cut-through car traffic. With the report now finished, CD4 and Recreation and Parks will work together with other City partners to implement some of the recommendations we can move on in the short term, including traffic calming and the creation of new active transportation facilities on Zoo Drive and Crystal Springs Drive.
Important Links & Information
Expanding Our Park Space
Adding 10 Acres to Griffith Park
With donations from various organizations including the West Valley Alliance for Optimal Living, Friends of Griffith Park, Bob & Joan Young, Annette Sikhand, and a contribution from our office, we were able to donate a 10 acre parcel of land in Griffith Park, just north of the Hollywood Sign, to the City to remain a public asset.
As the population increases and the need for park space increases with it, the addition of this parcel of land will help conserve open space for users of Griffith Park and a public benefit to residents of the city.
Building A Los Angeles Zoo For The Next Generation
In 2016, the L.A. Zoo began a public process for what would become the Zoo’s Vision Plan for 2028 and Beyond to help transform the campus into a modern facility focused on conservation and community. That plan was released in 2018 and in 2021 the plan’s Environmental Impact Report (EIR), which was developed with a public feedback process, was published by the City’s Bureau of Engineering (BOE), and transmitted by the Zoo to the Los Angeles City Council.
Our office asked the Zoo to listen, engage, and reflect on the feedback shared in response to the proposed Vision Plan and in summer 2022, the Zoo released its revised plan – Alternative 1.5, or the California Focused Conservation Alternative.
Alternative 1.5 takes the Zoo Vision Plan a long way towards addressing real environmental concerns by eliminating a planned multi-story parking garage, eliminating the planned Africa Area, which will preserve 6 acres with oak trees, and committing to measures that will reduce vehicle miles traveled by 10% by improving connections to the city’s public and active transportation networks. The Zoo has also committed to building a smaller visitor center, no longer located on the ridgeline and developed in line with other legislation across the city that seeks to preserve wildlife crossings, as well as minimizing blasting during construction.
City Council voted to approve the revised Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Zoo Vision Plan: Alternative 1.5 in August 2023. This is a milestone in a longer journey that will require much more additional public outreach as detailed design plans for the new Zoo take shape. I also want to encourage the public to keep in mind that this is a conceptual plan – not a design document – and that the Zoo has committed to continued community engagement once the project enters the Design Development phase. Together, we can build a better, more innovative Zoo with an emphasis on wildlife and environmental conservation.
Important Links & Information
Alternative 1.5
Review the full-plan by downloading “Los Angeles Zoo Draft Plan 2022—Alternative 1.5.”
Additional Resources & More Information
Department of Recreation and Parks
Website for the City’s Recreation & Parks (RAP) Department, with information on local playgrounds, recreation centers, extracurricular activities, senior centers, event & venue rentals, and more.
Griffith Park Landing Page
RAP’s web page with information on Griffith Park news, maps, attractions.
LA Parks Foundation
The Los Angeles Parks Foundation was created to enhance, expand, preserve and promote recreation and parks for the diverse people of Los Angeles. The Foundation carries out its mission by raising private dollars for projects that complement, but do not supplant, the responsibility of the government.
