Griffith Park Environment Issue Also Raised : Traffic Feared at Site of Autry Museum

A public meeting called to discuss environmental concerns involving the proposed $12-million Gene Autry Western Museum in Griffith Park turned into a heated question-and-answer session Thursday night, pitting environmentalists and nearby residents against museum officials.

Many in attendance complained that parking and traffic will drastically increase if the museum is built. But museum consultant William Law said traffic should not increase dramatically.

“The addition of the museum will not have a significant impact on parking and traffic in the park. Traffic should increase on a peak day no more than 14%,” Law said.

Sierra Club Objection

Other objections to the museum centered on a Sierra Club assertion that no study had been conducted of alternatives.

The Sierra Club and its members want a “full environmental impact report,” said Betty Reifsnider, conservation coordinator for the club. In a letter to members of the Recreation and Parks Commission, the club said that use of 13 acres of publicly owned park is significant and that a report is required.

The letter said an environmental report would also document a full range of alternatives, and names a 180-acre site at Rancho Simi as a possible location.

The Sierra Club letter also questions the legal ramifications of “charging the public a fee to visit the museum. The park belongs to everyone, regardless of the ability to pay.”

Other questions at the meeting revolved around the possibility that the construction of the museum will lead to more construction in the park.

But Joel Breithbart, a parks official, said, “I don’t think that open space is an issue and I don’t believe that the commission will let this set any type of precedent. They look at each project on each individual basis and the merits of each project,” he said.

Western Heritage

The museum is being billed as a first-class collection of national treasures that will provide visitors with historical portraits of American Western heritage. It will comprise artwork, clothing, toys, games and furnishings of famous and ordinary people of the West.

Architectural plans for the museum place it on 13 acres in the Pine Meadows section of Griffith Park, west of the Golden State Freeway and next to the Los Angeles Zoo parking lot.

Construction of the museum was unanimously approved by the Board of Referred Powers over the objection of the city’s Recreation and Parks Department.

The museum foundation had previously tried to build the museum on parkland in Burbank but abandoned that proposal in the face of strong opposition by environmentalists and neighbors.