Parking To Be Restricted Around Popular Studio City Hiking Trail

STUDIO CITY (CBSLA) – Visitors to the popular Fryman Canyon Park hiking trail in Studio City could soon struggle to find parking.

On Dec. 11, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved a resolution which will put in new parking restrictions in the neighborhoods around the park.

The popular three-mile Betty B Dearing Trail loops around from Wilacre Park to Coldwater Canyon Park and down through Fryman Canyon Park.

Wilacre Park has a small parking lot at Laurel Canyon Boulevard and Fryman Road which fills up quickly during peak times, which sends parking spilling into neighborhood streets.

This has drawn continuous complaints from residents, which prompted the new regulations.

"To me, if it's raining, or a hundred and fifteen (degrees), no, we don't have a lot of hikers. But if the weather's nice, and it's nice a lot, sometimes it's difficult," said resident Tom Vanasse, who helped collect signatures from his neighbors to get the issue before the council.

The resolution will create a preferential parking district, which will mean only residents with permits will be able to park along certain streets at any time. Under the new restrictions, which will take effect sometime in 2019, non-residential drivers will not be able to park on more than two dozen streets.

"It makes me really sad," hiker Cecile Wizenfeld said. "It's gonna make us think twice about coming over here, we'll probably go to other hiking trails."

To see a list of the streets effected by the resolution, click here.