How it impacts a universe closer to home

WHEN the Griffith Observatory reopens late this year, officials estimate that 17,000 people a day will want to visit, while capacity will be limited to about 10,000 from the 8 a.m. opening to 10 p.m. closing. For the first year or so, private cars will not be allowed up the hill, and to accommodate the crush, the city will institute a reservation and shuttle system from remote parking lots, including the Greek Theatre.

Local residents await the still-unannounced date with some trepidation -- after all, Los Feliz Boulevard already has a serious traffic problem. Homeowner Chris Laib, who serves on the Los Feliz Improvement Assn.’s Parks Committee and the Friends of the Observatory board, says he and his neighbors are reasonably happy with the shuttle plan: “We figure this is as good as it’s going to get.”

A long-term master-planning process for the whole of Griffith Park has been underway for the last year or so, overseen by L.A. Councilman Tom LaBonge. A draft released last summer envisioned a series of new parking garages at the bottom of the hill, along with much new development, including two aerial tramways, one to serve the observatory.

But any talk of trams, much less hotels and a “destination restaurant,” now seems dead. Locals already have 7,000 signatures on a petition to keep the remaining “urban wilderness,” and at a recent community meeting, LaBonge voiced support for a simple pedestrian walkway up to the observatory through the native chaparral.