Highland traffic to get better... after getting worse!

Finally, after years of effort, the City of Los Angeles now has jurisdiction over Highland Avenue, which until today, was part of the State Highway System (like Topanga Canyon Boulevard (HWY 27) & and Pacific Coast Highway (HWY 1).

According to Councilman LaBonge's weekly newsletter:

Highland Avenue, heretofore known as State Highway 170, was formally relinquished to the City of Los Angeles on Friday when Assemblymember Paul Koretz (D-West Hollywood) presented a check in the amount of $3.2 million to the City of Los Angeles for street and traffic improvements.

The transfer in authority, an initiative of Councilmembers LaBonge and Eric Garcetti, means improvements can begin immediately to improve congestion along this critical north-south corridor that runs through the heart of Hollywood. "There will be some pain as crews work to widen and improve this intersection of Highland and Franklin, but in the end, we will all gain from increased mobility, " said Councilmember LaBonge.

This first phase of street improvements at Highland and Franklin will also include installation of dedicated right-hand turn lanes, new street lights, street trees and new traffic signals. Traffic is expected to be severely congested during construction, which is expected to take six months. Motorists are strongly urged to avoid using Highland in favor of alternate routes like Vine Street.

So, traffic will be awful as they try to improve it. But as with other projects, I hope people don't think things have improved only because the construction delays have gone away.

Now, when are they going to fix the crumbling hill in Laurel Canyon?