The city released a new rendering showing how Hollywood Boulevard will be configured under the plan. (rendering courtesy of the city of Los Angeles)

Construction on the Access to Hollywood project, which will create pedestrian improvements and bike lanes on Hollywood Boulevard between La Brea Avenue and Lyman Place in East Hollywood, could begin anytime.

The exact start date of construction has not been announced but the work is scheduled to take place this summer, according to city officials. The first phase will begin on the eastern side between Gower Street and Lyman Place. Later phases will be implemented on Hollywood Boulevard between La Brea Avenue and Gower Street.

“I’m so excited, you have no idea. This is the kind of vision that I think we need in the city,” said City Councilman Hugo Soto-Martinez, 13th District. “We have this major international corridor and destination. This will connect … Los Feliz with Thai Town and Hollywood. People will be able to move around those three areas in a very easy way and in a much safer way.”

The project will include protected bike lanes, dedicated bus lanes and expanded space on sidewalks. In some segments, there will be a joint bus and bike lane. New landscaping, street furnishings and fixtures are included, as well as new crosswalks with flashing beacons that stop traffic when activated by pedestrians at Hollywood Boulevard and Rodney Drive, and Hollywood Boulevard and Hobart and Winona boulevards.

The project is being funded by $8 million from Metro’s Active Transportation Program and the LADOT’s Vision Zero Program. Soto-Martinez said the segment between Gower Street and Lyman Place will be complete by the end of the summer. The overall project is anticipated to finish during the first part of next year.

Local business leaders are also enthusiastic about the Access to Hollywood project.

“Hollywood Boulevard should be one of the most beautiful, creative and innovative streets in the world. People all around the world have high expectations, and there are expectations that we should work hard in Los Angeles to meet those expectations,” Hollywood Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Steve Nissen said. “The Access to Hollywood project and the first phase of it is a great start, but it’s only a start. We all need to be committed to ensure that we get to the next phase of the effort because it will benefit not only businesses, but the people who live here.”

“Hollywood Boulevard hasn’t had any major infrastructure enhancements in decades,” said Kathleen Rawson, president and CEO of the Hollywood Partnership, which oversees the business improvement district in the Hollywood Entertainment District. “It’s absolutely imperative this area gets a little love. We are very excited about the project. We think it’s a great start and a positive step forward.”

Some of the infrastructure improvements in the Access to Hollywood project were part of the Heart of Hollywood project conceived under former Councilman Mitch O’Farrell, and the name was changed to “Access to Hollywood” after Soto-Martinez took office. Although the name is similar to “Access Hollywood,” a television show linked to a scandal involving Donald Trump during his 2016 election campaign, Soto-Martinez said the new name illustrates what the project strives to accomplish.

“You’ve got to kick around a nice name that catches people’s imagination, and we thought this one was kind of interesting and it caught people’s attention,” Soto-Martinez said. “And it also accomplishes what we want, having access to Hollywood.”

Nissen said the work is part of an overall effort to make Hollywood more hospitable to residents and visitors.

“We owe it to the residents, we owe it to tourists and to businesses in the city to make Hollywood Boulevard a great street,” he added. “This marks the start of many good things to come.”

New bike lanes and dedicated bus lanes are planned on Hollywood Boulevard in the entertainment district. (photo by Edwin Folven)