Street Work Puts New Angle on Traffic

A one-block section of Broxton Avenue in Westwood Village is being converted into a one-way street with diagonal parking, according to the Los Angeles city transportation department.

Work on the street between Weyburn Drive and Kinross Avenue began this week and is scheduled to be completed Nov. 21, said Tom K. Conner, a parking management and regulation engineer.

When the project is finished, northbound traffic will be eliminated. The conversion also will increase the number of parking spaces to 75, from the 45 existing spaces.

“We rarely approve diagonal parking in the city because of the danger posed by motorists backing into traffic,” Conner said. “But this particular street is not a high-speed thoroughfare and there is a great need for additional parking in the village.”

Maria Chong, an aide to Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky, who represents Westwood Village, said the restructuring of the street also is designed to reduce an uncommon amount of “cruising” on Broxton by teen-agers.

“There is very little movement on the street during the weekends because of all the cars,” Chong said. “We believe making traffic one-way will at least discourage cruising. It won’t be as much fun for the drivers if they have to go completely around an adjacent street to start cruising again.”