GRANADA HILLS : City Sides With Residents Over Wall
After Granada Hills residents who live near the Simi Valley Freeway protested that they do not want a sound wall built behind their homes, Los Angeles city officials said that sounds just fine to them.
Tuesday, the City Council decided it will ask Caltrans not to build a sound wall along the north side of the freeway, roughly between Louise Avenue and Balboa Boulevard.
The council acted in response to concerns of residents that a cement-block wall would attract graffiti vandals, and impede views and cooling breezes. Fourteen households on Kalisher Street, and Curry, Babbitt and Ostrom avenues signed a petition saying they opposed the wall.
Those who organized the petition said they are happy the council had not turned a deaf ear to their protests. They said the freeway noise is insignificant in their neighborhood. The houses, which are about 30 feet higher than the freeway, are separated from the artery by a landscaped slope and an access road.
The council acted after the state Department of Transportation sent a letter to Councilman Hal Bernson, whose district includes the area, informing him that for the state agency to drop its project, a City Council resolution supporting the residents’ position is required.
According to a draft policy of the state agency, “Noise barriers will not be provided if most of those affected residents do not want them.”
“We’re very interested in what the council and the citizens have to say about this project,” Caltrans spokesman Russell Snyder said.
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