Traffic Tie-Ups Concern Residents In Hollywood Central Park Construction Plans

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — The first public meeting was held Saturday regarding the future of a proposed park that would be built on top of a freeway in the heart of Hollywood.

CBS2's Greg Mills spoke with Alfred Fraijo Jr., member of Friends of the Hollywood Central Park, about the outcome of the meeting held at the Helen Bernstein High School.

According to Fraijo, the Hollywood Central Park will be built on top of a section of the 101 Freeway and will run between Santa Monica Boulevard and Bronson Avenue.

"In highly urbanized, dense areas, there is not a lot of vacant land," Fraijo said. "Why not use existing infrastructure to build an amazing park."

Many Hollywood residents were excited about the ambitious plan, however, some raised concerns about traffic congestion to an area that is already well-known for heavy traffic.

Officials said the park is set to cover 38 acres and will offer several recreation areas such as bicycle paths, amphitheaters and walking trails.

"There are plenty of capped parks throughout the country," said Fraijo. "Hollywood is one of the most park starved communities in California. Between four and five years, we're looking to break ground."

The park was first proposed eight years ago. Saturday's meeting took the first step to put the plan in motion.

If approved, the billion-dollar park will take around 10 years to build and will be funded by federal government and state officials.