New traffic restrictions in Westwood

By Ajay Singh

Drivers leaving the UCLA campus and trying to cross Hilgard Avenue going east into a residential area north of Wilshire Boulevard have had to find other routes because of new traffic restrictions.

Cars leaving the Westwood business district to go east on Lindbrook Drive, Weyburn Avenue or Le Conte Avenue must now turn left or right when drivers come to Hilgard Avenue. They can no longer go straight across Hilgard onto residential streets that have provided many drivers with a less congested option to Wilshire Boulevard.

Further, traffic going southbound on Hilgard is currently not permitted to turn left onto Lindbrook Avenue. The new traffic restrictions are part of a pilot program introduced Feb. 15 and scheduled to last for about six months when a decision will be made on whether they should be permanent. The program is aimed at reducing traffic along several blocks of Weyburn, Lindbrook, Malcolm and Selby, where residents fear they will be adversely affected by traffic coming from the Palazzo Westwood Village, a residential and commercial project scheduled to open on Glendon and Weyburn avenues March 15.

The traffic mitigation plan, which has the support of the city's transportation department as well as that of Councilmember Jack Weiss, was proposed by the Holmby-Westwood Property Owners Association. A poll that the association's traffic committee conducted several months ago determined that "99% of those responding to the survey were in favor of the traffic mitigation measures," according to a homeowners' association letter. "The plan will reduce the number of cars on the streets. The result will be safer and quieter streets as well as strengthened property values for our entire neighborhood."

In coming months, the city and the homeowners' association will send affected homeowners a survey to help determine if the traffic restrictions should be made permanent, the letter said. The Los Angeles Department of Transportation plans to open up a public comment period soon.