{"id":491071,"date":"2026-10-10T02:46:20","date_gmt":"2026-10-10T02:46:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/491071\/"},"modified":"2026-10-10T02:46:20","modified_gmt":"2026-10-10T02:46:20","slug":"plans-for-a-hotly-debated-stretch-of-forest-lawn-drive-announced-by-la-mayor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/491071\/","title":{"rendered":"Plans for a hotly debated stretch of Forest Lawn Drive announced by LA mayor"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Los Angeles mayor\u2019s office says it has chosen a plan for a hotly debated road safety project on Forest Lawn Drive<\/a>, but it won\u2019t say how the plan will slow speeding cars on the deadly thoroughfare.<\/p>\n

In a statement Friday to LAist, the mayor\u2019s office said L.A. Mayor Karen Bass\u2019 plan for the busy road near Griffith Park will \u201cimprove traffic, cycling and pedestrian safety, and keep traffic flowing.”<\/p>\n

The office said the plan includes adding a protected left-turn lane and protected bike lanes to the 1-mile stretch of Forest Lawn Drive and maintains the roadway’s four existing lanes.<\/p>\n

The mayor\u2019s office did not respond to additional questions from LAist, including whether Bass\u2019 plan will reduce speeding on the road, whether there\u2019s a timeline for implementation and how soon the community will be informed about specifics.<\/p>\n

A city official who spoke to LAist on condition they not be named because they weren’t authorized to speak on the record confirmed that the safety design approved by the mayor includes widening portions of the road. Road widening was first proposed by a consultant for Forest Lawn Memorial Parks and Mortuaries.<\/p>\n

Forest Lawn Memorial Parks operates a chain of cemeteries, including one in the Hollywood Hills that can only be accessed along Forest Lawn Drive. The company was a longtime opponent<\/a> of a prior proposal to reduce lanes on the roadway that Bass halted in May.<\/p>\n

City transportation officials had said<\/a> the lane reduction would slow cars down and make the thoroughfare safer. <\/p>\n

Forest Lawn Memorial Parks worked to block that plan due to concerns that it would increase traffic congestion and impede access to its Hollywood Hills cemetery.<\/p>\n

The company spent nearly half a million dollars lobbying against the lane reduction at the state and local levels between 2025 and 2026, according to an LAist review of lobbying activity.<\/a><\/p>\n

The exact price tag for Bass\u2019 latest plan announced Friday is unclear.<\/p>\n

City transportation department records obtained by LAist show a proposal to widen the road developed by a consultant for Forest Lawn Memorial Parks would cost nearly five times more than the plan to reduce lanes on Forest Lawn Drive.<\/p>\n

City transportation staff said in an analysis that the consultant\u2019s road widening plan would have \u201clow\u201d potential to slow speeding cars, according to the public records.<\/p>\n

The L.A. Department of Transportation said in a statement that it is \u201ccoordinating with the Bureau of Engineering on advancing the Mayor’s direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The main goal of the Forest Lawn Drive Safety and Mobility project is to slow speeding cars on the road, and it also aims to protect bike lanes with plastic posts. <\/p>\n

Details of the original plan Bass halted in May<\/p>\n

The proposal that almost went ahead before Bass halted it would have cut the number of lanes from four to three, transforming the road into two through-lanes and one center turn lane. The bumpy, cracked, pothole-ridden road would also have been resurfaced.<\/p>\n

The goal was to slow cars and address the nearly 100 traffic collisions, including four deadly ones, the road has seen since 2013.<\/p>\n

Brian Taylor, a research professor of urban planning and public policy at UCLA, told LAist that research on how so-called road diets improve safety is \u201cunequivocal,\u201d adding that there is a significant reduction in crashes and injuries <\/a>when lanes are reduced.<\/p>\n

The plan to reduce lanes came with a $618,000 price tag that would have covered the costs of repainting new lanes on the road and installing plastic posts to fortify the bike lanes. Those costs would have been covered through the city\u2019s existing resources for road improvements, according to the city\u2019s transportation department.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

The road has become an issue in L.A.\u2019s tight mayoral race<\/p>\n

The future of Forest Lawn Drive has become a touchpoint in the L.A. mayor\u2019s race, where Bass is facing L.A. City Councilmember Nithya Raman, whose district includes this portion of Forest Lawn Drive and whose office initiated the project in 2022.<\/a><\/p>\n

At an August campaign event about Forest Lawn Drive, following a fatal collision on the road, Raman said one reason she\u2019s running for mayor is so \u201clifesaving street safety improvements are not stymied and are not politicized.\u201d<\/p>\n

The road is the sole point of entry to two major cemeteries, the Hollywood Hills locations of Forest Lawn Memorial Parks and Mount Sinai Memorial Parks.<\/p>\n

The cemeteries, neighborhood groups and state legislators opposed the lane reduction plan, citing concerns about traffic congestion, especially during funeral processions, and ease of access.<\/p>\n

In a joint statement to LAist in August, the cemeteries praised Bass\u2019 decision to find a new approach for the road, saying it \u201cdemonstrated responsive leadership and a willingness to get this right.\u201d The cemeteries did not respond to LAist\u2019s requests for a follow-up.<\/p>\n

\n After the mayor paused the lane-reduction plan, the city delayed resurfacing Forest Lawn Drive.\n <\/p>\n

\n The one-mile stretch of road is covered with cracks, potholes and bumps.\n <\/p>\n

The state\u2019s involvement<\/p>\n

State legislators representing L.A. had pressed the mayor in a letter in April<\/a> about the project, saying traffic lane reductions would be \u201cdisastrous to the operation of key cemeteries\u201d in the area and calling for more review of alternatives.<\/p>\n

In September, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill<\/a> that makes it more difficult to reduce lanes on Forest Lawn Drive.<\/p>\n

How to reach me<\/p>\n

If you have a tip, you can reach me on Signal. My username is kharjai.61.<\/p>\n

Streets for All, which has advocated for reducing Forest Lawn Drive from four lanes to three, said that the original plan for the road could still move forward if Raman becomes L.A.\u2019s next mayor.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will get the extra bureaucratic hurdles done and get the project in the ground anyway under Mayor [Raman],\u201d the transportation advocacy group said in September in an Instagram post,<\/a> referring to the additional steps the state legislation signed by Newsom requires.<\/p>\n

In September, Streets for All announced its political action committee is contributing $1.2 million<\/a> to get Raman elected.<\/p>\n