Following on the heels of the Mid-City West Community Council the night before, the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council last night voted to support a 16-weekend closure of Wilshire Blvd., to facilitate the installation of street-level concrete decking as part of the Wilshire/La Brea subway station construction.
GWNC Transportation Committee Chair Julie Stromberg, who made the motion in favor of the 16-weekend closure over a more recently-proposed 7-week full closure option, cited potential effects on local businesses as a major reason for the preference. Â The vote fell just shy of being unanimous, with two abstentions. Â Board member Ann Eggleston, one of the two who did not vote, said she was not comfortable making a choice before reviewing the full 300-page traffic study and Traffic Management Plan for the 7-week option, which was released by Metro (and available only via individual requests) just the day before the meeting.
Metro’s next community update meeting will be held on Thursday, January 21, at Los Angeles High School. Â At that meeting, Metro will discuss comments received since it originally presented the traffic study results and draft Traffic Management Plan for the 7-week option at a meeting this past Monday. Â Metro representatives say they hope to make a final closure plan recommendation as soon as possible after that meeting.
City Council Member David Ryu attended the GWNC meeting last night and, as he did at Monday’s meeting, assured stakeholders that – although there will be no formal public vote on the closure options – neighbors do have a voice through him. Â He urged people to submit their comments and preferences to him via david.ryu.lacity.org before the meeting on the 21st. Â Mr. Ryu also said that after he makes his final recommendation for the project, he and Metro will meet again with community groups to explain how and why that specific plan was chosen.
In other business last night, Fremont Place residents Cam Davis and Barbara Kumetz were installed as the new Board Member and Alternate, respectively, for that neighborhood.  Davis is a Managing Director and Financial Advisor with J.P Morgan in Century City, and has resided in Fremont Place for four years.  Kumetz is an attorney specializing in workers’ compensation law. She has lived in Fremont Place for 35 years, and is an active Board Member of the Fremont Place Homeowners Association.
Finally last night, the GWNC Board also voted to support a Land Use Committee recommendation opposing proposed changes to the City’s draft Baseline Mansionization Ordinance, on the grounds that the changes do not adequately consider the specific needs of individual neighborhoods.
The GWNC’s next meeting will be held on Wednesday, February 10. Â The next Land Use Committee meeting will be on Tuesday, January 26.