STUDIO CITY : City May OK Deal to Finish Park Work

The Los Angeles city Department of Recreation and Parks may soon approve the hiring of a construction company to complete an improvement project left unfinished by a previous contractor at Laurel Canyon Park in Studio City.

The $118,000 project, paid for with voter-approved recreation funds, began in August and was originally scheduled to take only three months to complete. But delays were caused after the original contractor, Travers Construction Inc. of Port Hueneme, experienced management problems.

Work also was prolonged by a spate of rainstorms, and then halted completely as parks officials responded to criticisms from residents about the scope of the improvements, which included pouring concrete for a stairway, installing curbing, fencing and a water fountain.

Some patrons of the small park, which was the first official off-leash dog exercise area established in the city, argued that the natural, canyon-bed setting of the park would be ruined by the introduction of concrete and steel.

In response, parks officials agreed to limit the amount of concrete poured in the park and changed the scope of the contract, but work stopped again when Travers abandoned the project in late January, said Julie Riley, a landscape architect with the department.

“They told us they went bankrupt,” Riley said.

Since then, the project has been in limbo. Mounds of loose soil lie near the entrance to the grassy dog run, and signs lean against a nearby fence. Posts were sunk to extend fencing around the rear of the park, but that part of the project was not completed.

Riley said she met about 10 days ago with a contractor who will probably be hired by the company that provided bonding for the work left incomplete by Travers.

That work includes installing signs, painting a metal gate near the entrance to the park on Mulholland Drive, installing railroad-tie steps, finishing the fencing and some irrigation and grading, Riley said.

“We’re waiting for the bonding company to tell us they have an agreement” with the contractor, Riley said. After the new contract is reviewed by the parks department, the job would take about five weeks to complete, she added.