They want to build a 38 acre park on top of the 101 Freeway

[Borgholio]

http://la.curbed.com/archives/2014/08/w ... lywood.php

Get excited Hollywood, because you are one step closer to having a huge park on top of the 101 Freeway. Friends of Hollywood Central Park, the group spearheading the plan, has finally gotten started on the first official step—environmental review process—according to a statement: "This brings us one big step closer toward achieving the long-held dream of building this much-needed park in the heart of Hollywood," says the executive director. The 38-acre park would run over about a mile of highway, from Santa Monica Boulevard to Bronson Avenue, and hopefully "create a street-level urban park that reunites communities separated by the Hollywood Freeway more than sixty years ago."

The notice about the environmental review says the park will be open seven days a week, 24 hours a day, with potential features including "pedestrian meadows, small retail facilities (such as bike shops, seasonal markets, and art galleries, restaurants, an amphitheater, a community center, playgrounds, dog parks, and interactive community areas." Development of the park is expected to go in phases, from north to south, starting above Sunset with "an amphitheater, parking, terraces, restaurants, a bed and breakfast inn, a grass area, and a dog park." Whoa.

The environmental process kicks off on September 6 with a public scoping session to collect ideas on what people want to see reviewed. Getting the park to this step in the planning process (still early) has taken years, but now that it's begun, the EIR process is expected to be finished by 2015, at which point a plan will be presented to the public for review. It's been a while since there was any news on the other freeway cap park on the 101, in Downtown ...

So they want to enclose a 1-mile section of the 101 freeway in Hollywood and make ground level a 38-acre park.

It sounds like an April Fool's prank but no, they're very serious about this. Here is the initial study in PDF form:

https://hollywoodcentralpark.org/sites/ ... P%20IS.pdf

So on one hand, I think it would be magnificently beautiful and would go a long way to erasing urban blight in that area. At least at first. On the other hand, given the state of government construction contract work, it will take 20 years and cost billions of dollars more than originally projected. Then it will only be a half-assed version of the original plan, and eventually money for it's upkeep will go the way of the funds that are supposed to be used on our roads and schools, and the whole thing will turn into a gang infested shantytown.

*sigh* I would love for LA to become...you know...actually a beautiful city. But given how current city services are handled, I have no faith that they can actually pull it off and keep it maintained once it's done (if ever).

[Patroklos]

Too much grass thus too much water, They need to model it after California's native geography.

I would prefer the money for this goes to the LA river restoration project.

[Borgholio]

Too much grass thus too much water, They need to model it after California's native geography.

I would prefer the money for this goes to the LA river restoration project.

One of my friends recently went kayaking on the section of the LA river that they have already restored. He said he had a great time. With a larger natural river you could even begin to have boating, fishing, and natural greenery that won't cause extra hardship during a drought. I agree, that would be a much more practical use for the money.