BEVERLY HILLS—The city of Beverly Hills has revealed that parking meters on South Santa Monica Boulevard during the North Santa Monica Boulevard reconstruction project will be uncovered in early June. On-street parking will be restored to both sides of the street.
The city of Beverly Hills indicated in a press release to Canyon News three pedestrian scrambles will be installed at the intersections of Rodeo, Camden and Bedford Drives as part of a pilot project to create a more village-like environment. The pilot project eliminates one eastbound lane between Bedford and Beverly Drives, with the goal of slowing down traffic and contributing to the village atmosphere. A pedestrian scramble is a diagonal crossing that halts vehicle traffic to allow pedestrians to cross.
The plan includes 59 on-street parking spaces, which is an increase of 19 spaces over the pre-construction layout: 43 total spaces (27 pre-construction, 16 new) on the north side of the road, and 16 total spaces (13 pre-construction plus 3 new spaces) on the south side. The westbound left turn pocket inserted at Rodeo during construction will be retained. Three left-turn pockets implemented during construction (westbound at Bedford, eastbound at Camden, and eastbound at Rodeo) will be eliminated to accommodate parking.
Additional enhancements to S. Santa Monica include straightening the roadway to minimize zigzags from merging traffic and arrange for wider lanes than pre-construction conditions. These improvements will increase the supply of on-street parking and provide additional parking buffers along the corridor. The restriping work is expected to take place from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., for six weeknights: on May 23, 24, 25, 29, 30 and 31. Traffic will be limited to one lane in each direction during the work.
Canyon News spoke to Garin Hussenjian, Public Information Coordinator for the city of Beverly Hills via email about the project. When asked if the city plans on similar improvements to other busy roads throughout the region, Hussenjian said, “Currently, once we complete the Santa Monic Blvd. project, we will assess any other large scale street improvements.”
Hussenjian added that the project is expected to cost a total of $100,000. Changes to S. Santa Monica Boulevard were the result of recommendations by the Traffic & Parking Commission. The Beverly Hills City Council included funding in the Capital Improvement Program to develop a long-range streetscape project. In 2016, City Council approved the removal of parking on S. Santa Monica, which has improved traffic flow during the reconstruction project. The N. Santa Monica Boulevard reconstruction project is currently scheduled to be completed by late June.
