Letter Cohon

0

L-cohon/1stLK/5.5 inches/mark2nd

Westwood Traffic Troubles

Just when it seemed that everything had been said about Village Center Westwood, I had an experience which I thought should be shared.

As a long-time Westwood resident, I loyally support local merchants, even when it is easier and less costly to patronize the big discount houses with free and accessible parking. Last week, I made a significant camera purchase, and chose, as I have in the past, to go to Bel Air Camera in the Village. It took me nearly 30 minutes to travel from Westwood and Wilshire boulevards to the store and then to the new parking structure, which is where they now validate. The village was jammed with pedestrians and drivers. (By whose definition is Westwood Village deemed to be dead?)

There currently are only three north-south streets through the Village, and it is one tough place to navigate. If developer Ira Smedra succeeds in reducing that by one-third by closing off one of those streets, it will be a monstrous trip to negotiate the rest of the Village. Even my serious level of commitment to local merchants would probably not transcend that obstacle.

It seems to me that we all have to sit around a “virtual table” and work this out with careful pragmatism and goodwill.

Marilyn Cohon

Westwood

No posts to display