Why Doesn't LA Post Sidewalk Closure Info in Appropriate Locations?

On Monday, December 7th, 2009 Hollywood Boulevard, from Highland Ave to Orange Ave, was closed due to the premier of the movie “The Lovely Bones” at the Chinese Theater. In addition to closing the street, both the sidewalk in front of the Chinese Theater and the Hollywood Boulevard mid-block pedestrian crossing were closed as well.

Unfortunately, when the City approved the closure of the street, sidewalk, and mid-block crossing, they failed to require that signage be posted in locations appropriate to best inform pedestrians that the sidewalks would be closed.

So frustrating.

Last Month I commented about this very same street closure when it was before the Board of Public Works for their approval:

Closing the mid-block crosswalk is a major inconvenience for pedestrians who are trying to walk west down the north side of Hollywood Boulevard. There is no signage posted  about sidewalk closures in front of the Chinese Theater until you get to the mid-block crosswalk. At that point, usually you can at least cross the street and continue west along the south side of Hollywood Boulevard. However, if the mid-block crosswalk is also closed then pedestrians will be forced to backtrack to Highland Boulevard and cross there. The requestor should be required to post signage at both the Metro Subway Station and the intersection of Highland Avenue informing pedestrians that the mid-block crosswalk will be closed.

Below is a map which shows where the sidewalk closure signs for Monday's movie premier were posted relative to the flow of pedestrian traffic from the Metro Station and Highland Avenue.

Why the Board of Public Works doesn't require that signage informing pedestrians of the closure of the sidewalk and/or the mid-block crosswalk be posted at both the Metro Subway Station and the intersection of Highland Avenue is beyond my understanding. There is always a lot of pedestrian traffic on Hollywood Boulevard, especially when there are movie premiers at the Chinese Theater, so the need for proper signage shouldn't be a surprise.

Adding signage at these two locations would save pedestrians (commuters, shoppers, and tourists) a lot of time, and frustration, when events like this are happening. It is the small and simple things like this that City leaders need to pay better attention to if they want to make Los Angeles a more pedestrian friendly City.