Take Two translates the day’s headlines for Southern California, making sense of the news and cultural events that affect our lives. Produced by Southern California Public Radio and broadcast from October 2012 – June 2021. Hosted by A Martinez.
Can a park be too popular? That might be the case at Runyon Canyon. The outdoor oasis in the middle of Hollywood gets an estimated 1.8 million visitors each year. With such dense traffic, the park and the surrounding neighborhood are taking a hit.
On Tuesday, the Los Angeles City Council will consider a motion to reduce traffic and improve safety in the area.
Take Two sat down with Estevan Montemayor, director of communications for Los Angeles Councilman David Ryu, to talk about the potential changes coming to Runyon Canyon.
"Runyon Canyon is incredibly popular. If you live in Los Angeles, you know that," Montemayor said. "We have both tourists and residents enjoying this treasure."
"In this motion, we cover facility improvement and trail erosion. We want to make sure the park itself is healthy so future generations can enjoy it."
To solve the parking problem in popular sites like Runyon, Councilman Ryu's office will work with the Department of Recreation and Parks and Bureau of Engineering to come up with solutions.
"We are looking into paid parking, as well as circulation in general, whether that means stop signs or roundabouts," Montemayor said. "We will seek community input from neighborhood councils and park users to see what they think is necessary to improve this beautiful park... Nothing is going to happen overnight. This is the beginning of a long process."