Westwood : Village Upgrade Planned

The Los Angeles City Council has approved a plan to spruce up Westwood Village by improving landscaping, lighting and sidewalks under a detailed plan called Streetscape.

City Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky introduced the proposal, which he called “one of the most important elements in our ongoing effort to strengthen and revitalize Westwood.” It passed the council 13 to 0.

Streetscape will be funded in part with an appropriation of $499,000 from the Westwood Special Parking Revenue Fund that will pay for design and construction drawings.

In recent years, the once-thronged village has suffered from loss of business, blamed variously on increasing competition, inconvenient parking and the perception that the neighborhood is unsafe because of a few incidents of rioting after movies.

As part of the effort to turn the village around, Yaroslavsky appointed a seven-member management group in October. The group will assess businesses to finance improvements such as Streetscape and to improve parking and safety.