Pedestrian and Auto Bridge at Westside Mall Passes Hurdle

In a major defeat for homeowners opposed to expansion of the Westside Pavilion shopping mall, the Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Commission gave preliminary approval Thursday to a bridge over Westwood Boulevard that would connect the existing mall with a proposed annex.

The 48-foot-wide bridge--roughly half the width of a typical freeway--would be the first in the city to carry both traffic and pedestrians over a city street as part of a commercial development, Los Angeles officials said. Other private bridges in the city, including those at the Bonaventure Hotel and the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza, serve pedestrians only.

Cluttered Skyline

“This is a very bad precedent for this city,” said Laura Lake of the Westside Home Owners Alliance, a coalition of five homeowner groups near the mall that wanted a pedestrians-only bridge. Lake and others argued that the traffic link is unnecessary and said they fear such bridges, particularly near residential neighborhoods, will clutter Los Angeles’ skyline.

In approving the bridge, commissioners followed the advice of city transportation officials, several consultants, architect Jon Jerde, City Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky and residents from a sixth nearby homeowners group. All agreed the bridge offered the best hope of relieving traffic congestion in the area by permitting cars to move from the mall to its 105,000-square-foot annex without using surface streets. The annex will also provide 1,000 additional parking spaces.

“We didn’t want this bridge. We didn’t go out and say, ‘Hey guys, why don’t you put a bridge in,’ ” said Terry Tippit of the West of Westwood homeowners group, which represents residents east and west of the mall. “But given the problems that we’ve had in this area, we felt it is going to be a plus.”

The bridge has been a source of contention since it was proposed several years ago as part of the mall’s expansion. Westfield Inc., the developer, originally wanted to build a larger bridge that would include retail shops. Strong community opposition and Mayor Tom Bradley’s insistence that the bridge not include shops forced Westfield to scale back the bridge.

In January, the City Council approved the expansion and the traffic bridge, but under city law the Cultural Affairs Commission must also approve proposals to build over city streets. On Thursday, the commission voted 6 to 1 to grant preliminary approval for the bridge. Westfield must return to the commission for final approval once Jerde completes the bridge’s design.

No Signal

Commissioner Madeleine Landry, who voted for the bridge, cautioned other developers not to view the decision as a signal that the commission favors such bridges.

“I don’t think we should ever look at this as being a precedent or say we are going to do this for every project that comes along,” Landry said.

Decisions by the Cultural Affairs Commission cannot be appealed, but homeowners opposed to the project have one more chance to fight it. The City Council later this summer will consider Westfield’s request for so-called “air rights” to build over Westwood Boulevard. But Yaroslavsky, who represents the area, has given opponents little hope, saying the air rights issue is a mere technicality because the council and mayor have already approved the project.