Community members expressed outrage and support for the Fountain Avenue Streetscape Project at a heated Aug. 19 meeting. (photo by Jon Viscott)

West Hollywood residents made their voices heard with cheers, jeers, arguments and red and green light signs at the heated Aug. 19 Fountain Avenue Streetscape Project community meeting.

The meeting, meant to inform residents about the Fountain Avenue redesign and hear their opinions before a Sept. 15 City Council vote, came in the wake of 27-year-old cyclist Blake Ackerman’s death from a July 10 hit-and-run on the street. Ackerman’s death reignited impassioned debate among residents about the need to slow traffic and implement bike lanes on Fountain Avenue. The meeting was attended by every member of the West Hollywood City Council and Mayor Chelsea Byers made brief introductory remarks, commending the community turnout.

Chris Corrao, West Hollywood senior transportation planner and Fountain Avenue’s project manager, presented an update on the different phases of the project. Phase 1, set to be approved at the Sept. 15 council meeting, includes reducing travel lanes from four to two, eliminating peak-hour parking restrictions, removing on-street parking on the north side of the street and implementing a protected bike lane. Phase 2 of the plan includes widening sidewalks and upgrading curb ramps and will be implemented by a broadened steering committee. The current Fountain Avenue Streetscape Project steering committee includes nine West Hollywood community members and members of various city commissions.

Corrao said the project aims to transform Fountain Avenue, which currently sees approximately 35,000 trips everyday, into “the residential street that it was in the 1960s.” The comment was met with laughs and jeers from the crowd.

Community members expressed outrage at the proposed parking losses and claimed the redesign would significantly increase traffic on Fountain Avenue and on Santa Monica and Sunset boulevards. Others urgently called on the council to approve the plan, citing a desperate need to protect bicyclists and pedestrians.

Mike Greenfield, who has lived on Fountain Avenue for decades, said the project’s impact on traffic would be catastrophic and he will pursue legal action against the city if it is approved.

“This is the most maddening thing – I had no idea it was going to get to this,” he said to raucous applause throughout the room. “Do you have any idea what’s going to happen to Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood and Santa Monica Boulevard? Total lunacy.”

West Hollywood resident Lynn White expressed concerns over the project’s impact on parking, trash pickup and emergency services if the street is reduced to only two lanes of traffic.

“Continually, we have been asking very viable questions with no viable solutions about the parking,” she said. “Where do people go?”

However, the project team met with West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station representatives and the Los Angeles County Fire Department, who informed the city that they would be able to respond to all emergencies along Fountain Avenue with the proposed changes, Corrao said.

Some residents are concerned about traffic congestion and the loss of parking. Others called for more protection for pedestrians and cyclists. (photo by Sam Mulick)

Lesley O’Toole, co-chair of the Spaulding Square Neighborhood Association, said the project’s proposed removal of 210 parking spaces would “devastate” her community, leading to people parking in her neighborhood – which is located just north of Fountain Avenue in L.A.

Alex Silberman, a West Hollywood resident, said the potential lives saved by implementing measures to slow drivers on Fountain Avenue outweighs the potential increase in traffic.

“We have seen cars slam into buildings. We have seen them slam into each other. We have seen them kill people, and we all share responsibility for not fixing this before Blake Ackerman was killed,” Silberman said to loud applause from attendees who support the redesign.

Jordan, a West Hollywood resident who did not give his last name, also paid tribute to Ackerman and asked the members of the public if his life was worth retaining parking spots.

“I’m hearing a lot of great thoughts tonight from folks about inconvenience, about how they want to take this road because it’s easier, it’s faster to get from Point A to Point B,” he said. “On one side, we have a lot of folks here talking about inconvenience. On the other side, we have folks talking about not wanting to die.”

Tributes for Ackerman spurred heated responses from the crowd, including one man who called it a “disgrace” that people were using his death to justify support for the redesign.

Community members spoke on the need for bike lanes to promote more environmentally friendly ways of transportation and to help community members who cannot afford to drive a car.

Residents can learn more about the project and make their voices heard at the Aug. 26 Public Facilities, Recreations and Infrastructure Commission meeting.

Phase 1 of the Fountain Avenue Streetscape Project is tentatively scheduled for City Council consideration on Sept. 15. If approved, construction would begin in fall of 2026 and conclude in winter of 2027, following a bidding process. City staff will seek authorization from the council to release a request for proposals for Phase 2 of the redesign at the Sept. 15 City Council meeting. If approved, Phase 2 planning and design would begin in October 2025.