Hollywood Bowl Is Cutting Hundreds Of Parking Spots To Address Congestion

Going to the Hollywood Bowl? Plan ahead if you want to park your car. The popular hillside venue is turning two of its four parking lots into rideshare and shuttle hubs in the hopes of clearing up some congestion in the neighborhood.

About 350 parking spots will be lost starting this Thursday with the first show of the season, “Keep the Party Going: A Tribute to Jimmy Buffett.”

Daniel Song, who’s been serving as interim CEO of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, which manages the venue, told LAist the move should improve the experience for guests, and for people just trying to get home or around the Hollywood Bowl.

“It has always been our goal, as a steward of this incredible historic venue, to make it as easily accessible to everyone that lives in the area in Southern California,” Song said.

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What are your options?

There will still be about 1,400 pre-paid parking spots available at the venue, but Song said it’s more important than ever to plan ahead. Thursday’s show, for example, is almost already sold out of spots.

But if you don’t want to drive, you can catch a ride on the Bowl Shuttle from Burbank, the L.A. Zoo, Hollywood Boulevard, and Studio City.

There’s also park and ride locations across L.A. County, and tickets are available online until 10 a.m. the day before each event.

You can find the details for both options here, and purchase tickets here.

Song said he’ll be checking out the changes for himself this week, and throughout the season, to make sure the effects are positive. And if it doesn’t work out the way they hope, he said they’ll continue to make adjustments.

“As people come to the Hollywood Bowl, especially as we get used to this sort of new system, just give yourself a little extra time,” Song said. “Come early and have a picnic and enjoy the outdoors — and give yourself plenty of time to get there.”

About the change

Song said it’s no secret that traffic and parking have become a challenge when it comes to the bowl.

“It's a running joke, people don't love the parking, people don't love the traffic, but people love the bowl,” he said.

However, space is limited.

The more than 100-year-old venue butts up against Highland Avenue and the 101 Freeway, which doesn’t leave much room for the massive parking lots seen at similar venues in Southern California.

Song said they’ve been looking for ways to make the space they do have work better for everyone moving through the area.

He said converting Lot C and Lot B, with the exception of accessible parking, for rideshares and buses would have “a more cohesive impact on the totality of traffic and parking around the Hollywood Bowl.”

The decision was made based on recommendations from transportation consultants who found that all the different ways of getting to the venue were in conflict with each other, Song said, with about 17,000 people converging into one small stretch of Highland Avenue.