Watch CBS News

City Will Block Pedestrian Access To Hollywood Sign Trail From Beachwood Drive

HOLLYWOOD (CBSLA.com) — The most popular hiking path to the Hollywood Sign will soon be blocked to visitors after a prolonged battle among residents of Beachwood Canyon.

The city of Los Angeles will in the coming weeks block access from Beachwood Drive to a popular trail near the Hollywood Sign, recreation and parks department spokeswoman Rose Watson told media outlets Tuesday. Hikers will be redirected away from Beachwood and will have to reach the path from elsewhere in Griffith Park.

Residents such as Sarajane Schwartz had pushed for the city to restrict pedestrian access through the gate, saying hikers were clogging residential streets and causing safety hazards.

"This is just a disaster waiting to happen," Schwartz said Tuesday.

Other Beachwood Canyon countered that the path should remain easily accessible to hikers and tourists hoping to see the famous sign.

The issue became public Monday as part of a court battle over access to the Sunset Ranch Hollywood Stables on Beachwood Drive. The stables provide horseback rides in Griffith Park.

The ranch has long had a legal agreement allowing people to come and go through a 20-foot-wide strip of land. But ranch owners sued, complaining that the city had started directing hikers onto its road, thus interfering with the ranch's ability to do business.

In February, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge concluded that the city had indeed channeled thousands of pedestrians toward the ranch every month, blocking access to the property.

To comply with the ruling, the city agreed to direct pedestrians away from the Beachwood gate, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Schwartz said she hopes the new policy will help restore some quiet to her neighborhood.

"We want our neighborhood to return to being a residential neighborhood and not Disneyland," she said.

(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.