Los Angeles Great Streets Planning and Design

A great street reflects the surrounding community and becomes a central activity zone. We worked with residents and business owners, seniors and bike riders to transform Lankershim Boulevard in North Hollywood, under LA Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Great Streets Initiative. The integrated planning, design and community engagement included a “pop-up” demonstration that allowed the community to experience, touch and live in a transformed street (temporarily). Partnerships with businesses, local food vendors, musicians and artists turned the pop-up into a community event that celebrated local culture. The street plan addresses safety, parking, traffic flow, intersection transitions and turning movements. A road diet will transform the existing five lanes into a three-lane street with wider sidewalks, protected bike lane, enhanced landscaping, parklets, enhanced public spaces for business and an on-street parking buffer between vehicles and cyclists, To encourage community groups to create their own great streets (with City help), we also developed a Great Streets DIY Manual with all the information and City contacts needed to transform a street.