Runyon Canyon Park is scheduled to reopen on Aug. 2 after Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) crews replaced a six-inch water main running through the park.

Hikers and dog owners will return to Runyon Canyon next week when the park reopens after a four-month closure to repair a water pipe. (photo by Gregory Cornfield)

It was welcome news for Don Andres, president of the Friends of Runyon Canyon Park Foundation.

“It’s a very good thing,” Andres added. “The park is very heavily used. We did a study to see how many people use the park and it is around 35,000 a week.”

The 160-acre park is popular among hikers, who can enjoy sweeping views of the city from trails, and the off-leash dog park. The Friends of Runyon Canyon Park Foundation is developing a plan to plant more trees and landscaping, as well as fencing to keep people from venturing off trails and into natural areas where they could cause erosion, Andres said.

During the park closure, controversy surfaced after members of the Hollywood Hills Neighborhood Council learned of a plan to build a basketball court in the park that was to be financed by a private donor and would have included the logo of an apparel company. The neighborhood council complained that they weren’t consulted before the Recreation and Parks Commission approved plans for the basketball court.

The city later dropped plans for the court after a lawsuit was filed by residents living near the park. Andres said any future plans, including tree planting and the installation of fencing near trails, would be presented to the neighborhood council and vetted thoroughly by the public.

“We have got to move past this whole basketball court controversy and move forward with what’s best with the community,” Andres said. “We are focused on maintaining it as an urban wilderness park, primarily for hiking and sightseeing, with no urban development.”

The LADWP replaced the pipe to reduce the potential for future ruptures. The pipeline boosts firefighting capabilities in the rugged terrain in the hills above Hollywood and provides water for nearby residents.

The Department of Recreation and Parks also installed new asphalt on a paved trail to help reduce the surface temperature, said Diana Bulnes, a spokeswoman for the department. The new paving has a higher “reflectivity to assist in maintaining a cooler trail.” Additionally, basins were installed to help separate soil from storm water runoff that can be captured and reused.

Estevan Montemayor, communications director for Councilman David Ryu, 4th District, said the work was completed exactly as planned.

“It is scheduled to open on time,” Montemayor added. “We had said it would be closed for four months and it is just about to reopen.”