Find those dog leashes and your hiking shoes. Runyon Canyon Park will re-open next Tuesday.
The re-opening was announced today by the L.A. Department of Water and Power and L.A. City Councilmember David Ryu, whose fourth district includes the park.
“After much needed public safety and infrastructure upgrades, the City of Los Angeles is thrilled to reopen one of the city’s most highly used and beloved parks,” Ryu said in a press release. “Thanks to the hard work of LADWP, a 90-year-old water pipeline has been replaced and new fire hydrants added, which are crucial to the fire protection of the park, park-goers and nearby residents. We worked closely with the Department of Recreation and Parks and LADWP to shorten the time of the overall project. LADWP finished under budget by $1 million dollars — that is a huge saving for rate payers, and the Department of Recreation and Parks was able to add other important upgrades like erosion control and water fountains.”
The park, which sits just east of West Hollywood, is a popular spot for WeHo residents to walk their dogs, take hikes, and ogle the occasional Hollywood celebrity. It was closed in April for replacement of approximately one mile of six-inch pipe that runs through the park. The project was undertaken to improve the area’s fire protection system, reduce the risk of pipe breaks, and improve local water quality.
Construction for the project included the excavation of a trench along the fire road trail, installation of the new pipeline, and backfilling of the trench. The new mainline will benefit LADWP customers by significantly reducing ongoing maintenance and repair costs attributable to leaks and breaks from the 90-year-old pipe it replaces.
The construction included restoring and paving the park’s fire road trail, installing new drinking fountains, installing new erosion controls and performing general clean-up and landscape maintenance throughout the park.
I went today for the first time, I’m usually there 3-5x a week so ai felt like a big part of my light was snuffed out. It was worth the wait, the changes are subtle but noticable. And, as the sentiment goes, you don’t truly appreciate something until it’s gone. What a gift. What a treasure. What a view of another, unecessary freaking hotel, mammoth building, mixed use development and/or condo-plex that stands where once was a charming single-family craftsman bungalow.
What would be great is if the city lifted the parking restrictions they placed a few years ago. The residents complained and city added restrictions. 1) Runyon Canyon was there when they bought their house. (They didn’t have to buy there if they didn’t like the park traffic.) 2) All those homes have driveways and/or garages. 3) Thousands of people visit the park weekly and they’re more worried a few dozen residents. 4) Restrictions kick in weekdays at 7:00pm when it’s not even dark. I wish someone would fight to remove or relax the parking restrictions. It’s a shame we… Read more »