Eastwood
Coalition Presents 3
Easy Steps to a Better Hollywood 1
- "WELCOME TO HOLLYWOOD" It
is said that Hollywood is the number 1 attraction for travelers visiting Los Angeles,
and with more than 20,000,000 (that's 20 million) visitors to Los Angeles every
year, the number of those coming to Hollywood is mind blowing. Of
these visitors coming to visit our fair little burg on an annual basis, the majority
of them use the 101 freeway to get here, and the majority of those using the 101
freeway exit at Hollywood Boulevard. Yet,
many first timers coming from either north or south, get to the top of the ramps
at Hollywood Blvd and don't know which way to go. Which way to the Hollywood Walk
of Fame? Which way to Grauman's Chinese Theater? Which way to Thai Town? Our
friends at the nearby 7-11 will tell you that many confused travelers will stop
on a daily basis to ask directions, simple directions, like, "Which way is downtown
Hollywood"? We
Propose… "WELCOME TO HOLLYWOOD" Signs Placed
at the top of both the north and southbound 101 exit ramps at the Hollywood Boulevard
exits, these signs could exhibit all the glory associated with Hollywood, perhaps
in a elegance representing the classic golden era of Hollywood mixed with the
uniqueness of modern day style and technology. These
signs will have arrows pointing to some of the more popular parts of our community,
like: Downtown Hollywood, the Egyptian Theater, the Walk of Fame, Little Armenia,
and of course, the Eastwood Village. 2
- INTERNATIONAL WALK OF FAME Hollywood
is one of the most, if not the most famous city in the world. Anyone and everyone
from any part of this globe has heard of Hollywood, and many dream to one day
visit. Shiny
brass stars emblazing the sidewalks of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street are
one of the town's main attractions. However, these infamous shiny icons stop at
Gower Street, leaving the eastern part of Hollywood once removed from the fame
of what is known as downtown Hollywood. While
many of this country's greatest stars are also well known in other parts of the
world, there are many famous stars from other parts of the world who are not so
famous in America. We
Propose … The INTERNATIONAL WALK OF FAME Starting
at Hollywood Boulevard and Western Avenue, the International Walk of Fame could
grow in all four directions from this intersection, spreading into the already
international neighborhoods known as Thai Town and Little Armenia. Now,
fans from all over this big blue ball will be able to come to Hollywood and not
just see the names of favorite American stars on our sidewalks, they will see
the names of their favorite stars from their home lands as well. The
Eastwood community is currently home to a number of hotels catering to world travelers.
So why not show our appreciation by offering these tourists an opportunity to
share in the pride of having their picture taken with the embossed star of their
favorite actor, singer, or radio personality from their own country? Similar to
the existing Walk of Fame, the INTERNATIONAL WALK OF FAME will have a distinct
design with famous celebrities' names forever blazing our sidewalks for fans from
all over the globe to enjoy. 3
- NEW MTA BUS HUB ON WESTERN AVENUE A
great concern of our neighbors is the over-crowded, over-used, and under-cared-for
bus stop on the southwest corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Western Avenue. Located
on Western Avenue only a few feet south of the intersection and situated on a
very narrow section of the sidewalk, this bus stop overflows with waiting public-transit
users. The area is often difficult to walk through and is usually littered. We
understand the current owner of the Mayer building does his best keep this area
clean, and we truly appreciate that, but the over-crowding and narrow sidewalks
are realities that he has no control over, and at some point the City and the
MTA must step in to rectify this problem. THE
BUSES BRING TRAFFIC TO A HALT! There is no pull-off lane for the buses to use
and hence, any vehicles heading southbound and behind the buses are forced to
come to a complete stop. This causes traffic to back up into the Hollywood/Western
intersection, adding more traffic congestion to an already congested intersection. WE
PROPOSE… A NEW MTA BUS HUB Something
the City, the CRA, and the MTA have announced they are looking to create in this
area, by creating this a little further south than the bus stop's current location
on Western Ave, the new MTA HUB would replace the two existing abandoned warehouses
to the south of the Mayer building complex. These warehouses have been neglected
for years, adding nothing but blight to our community. The
width of the two buildings equals approximately 140 feet. Add to this new parcel
the small extended-stay hotel on the NW corner of Western Avenue and Carlton Way
and there will be more than enough room for a large MTA BUS HUB, one that could
also provide retail space, additional community parking (which is desperately
needed), as well as plenty of room for the buses to pull completely off of the
avenue to load/unload passengers. A new lighted cross-walk signal to the other
side of Western Avenue will allow easy access to the existing subway stop on the
southeast corner of Hollywood and Western. (Please, see overhead BEFORE and AFTER
diagrams.)
 Click
to enlarge |  Click
to enlarge |
The
Overall Benefits of These 3 Easy Steps to a Better Hollywood? 1)
The "WELCOME TO HOLLYWOOD" signs could be designed in such a way to be not only
functional but in time also become a landmark in Hollywood. 2)
The INTERNATIONAL WALK OF FAME will bring more international tourism to the area.
We believe that the INTERNATIONAL WALK OF FAME will only add to our great diversity
and strengthen our collective heritages already established in the Eastwood Village
community. 3)
The NEW MTA BUS HUB, with its commercial component and additional parking will
free up some of the already over-parked residential streets AS WELL AS provide
parking for the existing subway stop across the street, (which, by the way, currently
provides NO parking for subway users). It
is the belief of the Eastwood Coalition and its residents that these 3 Easy Steps
will enhance the quality of living in our community, as well as increase the real
estate value of current plus future retail and residential projects. If
you would like to be part of any of these exciting projects, or have an idea of
your own that you think will make our neighborhood a better place to live, work,
and play, then please contact us! | 
