Hollywood : Bid to Extend Cruising Ban

Councilman Michael Woo this week introduced a motion to keep anti-cruising measures in Hollywood in full force until the end of the year, saying he wanted to “keep the heat on long after the summer is over.”

Police have said cruising by gang members along parts of Hollywood and Sunset boulevards has helped fuel a sharp increase in crime in the area.

The anti-cruising measures include barricades, beefed-up Department of Transportation staffing, and stepped-up police enforcement that includes citing and towing vehicles and enforcing curfews.

Woo said cruising has gone down as a result of a recent crackdown, which he helped by securing more than $50,000 in city money to pay for additional traffic officers and barricades. Those traffic control efforts are in effect until Aug. 31, Woo said.

Woo’s motion is expected to be adopted by the City Council as early as Friday, a staff aide said. Woo did not request a specific amount of money for the enforcement effort, but the aide said the Hollywood-area councilman would secure the traffic control money through various city budgets.