Westwood Village Development Plans
Re “Revitalizing Westwood,” editorial, March 1: Has anyone on The Times’ editorial board set foot in Westwood Village lately? If they had, they would find broad new brick- and palm-lined walkways, a handful of new, family-oriented restaurants, a just-begun refurbishment of several recently purchased retail tracts and a 6-month-old face lift on Broxton Avenue anchored by a shopper-friendly parking structure.
As for the outcry against the project, it can hardly be dismissed as a “racket”: Every homeowners group neighboring the village has come out against it. Sure, a supermarket and library would be great--but not if they arrive via an albatross that carries with it increased traffic, the choking off of a major vehicle thoroughfare (Glendon Avenue) and thousands of additional movie seats. The latter would not only exceed the lawful limit but has elsewhere lured the same kind of youthful crowds that spelled the beginning of the end for Westwood in the first place.
MORGAN GENDEL
Los Angeles
* You have outlined both the pros and the cons of the Village Center Westwood project and have shown that the balance clearly favors the pros. Westwood gets a public library. Westwood gets ultramodern stadium-style theaters--if you haven’t been to the movies lately, you probably don’t know what a great improvement that will be. Westwood gets 1,600 new parking spaces not designated for other purposes and $1.3 million to mitigate now and future traffic problems. Westwood gets a real supermarket and the upscale shops, restaurants and neighborhood services it now lacks, and a lot of new tax and business license money to use for further improvements.
JOHN POSTLEY
Los Angeles
* As a resident of Westwood, I don’t need another “mall” nearby that offers more traffic and an inconvenient grocery store, using part of a public street at taxpayers’ expense. There’s already a pharmacy in the village, a public library just two miles away and four major “malls” within 15 minutes of driving from Westwood.
How about constructing something more creative for residents, Angelenos and visitors not currently available in the Westside that complements the nearby university, museums and homes?
DAN GARCIA
Westwood