Supporters of Beachwood Canyon access to Hollywood Sign plan rally next weekend

Not every Beachwood Canyon resident wants to keep Griffith Park hikers and Hollywood Sign sightseers out of their neighborhood—they’re planning a rally next weekend to show their support for keeping the trailhead in their neighborhood open.

City officials are planning to permanently close the Beachwood Canyon access point to the Hollyridge Trail—which leads to up-close views of the famous Hollywood Sign in Griffith Park—on April 18.

The decision is the result of a lawsuit against brought against the city by a Beachwood Canyon horse ranch. It’s also a win for a handful of vocal Beachwood Canyon residents who say tourists are impinging on their quiet neighborhood.

But Linda Othenin-Girard, president of the Oaks Homeowners Association, tells Curbed that Oaks residents are upset about the closure’s effect on the remaining access points to the park. She says traffic on Vermont Avenue and Canyon Drive, where the city plans to reroute hikers, has already increased.

She says the Oaks Homeowners Association, the Lake Hollywood Homeowners Association, the Los Feliz Improvement Association, and the Beachwood Canyon Neighborhood Association are all opposed to closing the Beachwood gate.

Event organizers are asking like-minded folks to meet at noon on April 15 at the end of Beachwood Drive to show their disapproval for shuttering access to the Hollyridge Trail and Griffith Park via Beachwood Canyon—a move they say isn’t necessary.

Organizers are avoiding a confrontational tone by calling the April 15 event a “gathering,” but they do want to effect some change with their protest, saying on the event’s description on Facebook:

We hope that the Mayor and Councilman David Ryu will act swiftly to turn back this disruptive move by the City Attorney’s office before it becomes permanent and closes off forever this access to Griffith Park for the many members of the public who enjoy it.

• Gathering to Keep Beachwood open to Griffith Park [Facebook]
• Beachwood Canyon closure: 5 things to know about the decision to limit access to the Hollywood Sign [Curbed LA]
• City will close Beachwood Canyon access to Hollywood Sign [Curbed LA]