Holmby News 3-13-15

HOLMBY NEWS
March 13, 2015

 

From the Holmby Westwood Property Owners Association, serving the Holmby Westwood community since 1960.

1.  Los Angeles Marathon – Street Closures
2.  LAPD Crime Report
3.  No Right Turn on Red
4.  Westwood Village Parking Meter Program
5.  HWPOA Communication and Ad Policy
6.  Resident Ads
7.  HWPOA Contact Information

1.  LOS ANGELES MARATHON – STREET CLOSURES

The Los Angeles Marathon will be held on Sunday, March 15. There will be a number of road closures throughout the day. To see a map of the street closures, please click here:

http://www.lamarathon.com/race-weekend/street-closures

Please plan ahead for an alternate travel route to avoid street closures.

2.  LAPD CRIME REPORT

Protect your home from Residential Burglary. A common MO that has been occurring is suspects who typically knock or ring the doorbell to verify if the resident is home. When there is no answer, the suspects enter the side or rear of the residence and force entry by smashing the window or door glass to gain entry. Suspects are targeting the master bed and bath areas of the home and removing Jewelry and small electronics.

Another Burglary trend that has been occurring is construction thefts and break ins. Items of value being targeted are construction tools, equipment, appliances and building materials. If you observe after hours suspicious activity at a construction site or major remodel location, call 911 immediately!

Burglary:
1000 block Westholme Ave. RD: 0828. Between 3/1/15, 9:00 AM and 3/2/15, 11:30 AM, suspect(s) entered unlocked residence garage and removed bike.

Grand/Petty Theft:
500 block S. Mapleton Drive. RD: 0819. Between 3/5/15 and 3/8/15, unknown suspect(s) removed cash and watches from safe that was not securely closed. The victim had workers in his house during this time.

3.  NO RIGHT TURN ON RED

Our neighbors on the west side of UCLA, the Westwood Hills Property Owners Association, has asked for our help. Please read the post below.

Dear Neighbors – if you, like me, frequently exit the 405 Northbound at Sunset, you will have noticed that the city now has a “no right turn on red” sign and red arrow—where for decades one could turn right on red.

This new signage made sense during the 405 construction because the K-rails on the bridge obstructed visibility. But now we have a clear line of sight, and it’s enormously frustrating to sit at that light when there are no eastbound cars in sight. Further, it causes cars to pile up on the off-ramp, and during rush hour to back up onto the freeway.

I have just spoken with our Councilman Paul Koretz’s transportation deputy Jay Greenstein about this. He asked that I collect feedback from as many people as possible to evidence the problem being created by this new policy, so he can approach LADOT about changing it. Apparently LADOT has a new policy nowadays that if there are two right turn lanes (as there now is at Sunset), no one can turn right on red.

I would therefore appreciate hearing from you, and anyone you know who routinely needs to make a right turn at that Sunset off-ramp in order to head to UCLA, Bel Air, our neighborhood and points further east. I will collect all your emails and forward to Jay. If no one else thinks it’s a problem, then I’d like to know that too.

Thanks!
Best,
Terry Tegnazian, President
WHPOA
terrteg@earthlink.net

4.  WESTWOOD VILLAGE PARKING METER PROGRAM

The following is an article from Curbed LA (http://la.curbed.com/):

Westwood Village
Getting Demand-Based Parking Meter Pricing

By May, the variable parking meter pricing program known as ExpressPark will have made its way into Westwood. The LADOT will install new meters in Westwood Village by then, and the prices to park will change throughout the day, depending on demand; the program started and has been successful already in Downtown LA. Pricing hasn’t been set yet, says the Daily Bruin, and there are a few tweaks that might be made before it’s finalized, including time limits at the meters, which some feel are too short. (In Downtown, the limit for variable-priced spots is two hours.) Westwood business owners and UCLA reps have also told LADOT in outreach meetings that they’d like to see a flat rate of $5 instituted for “after-hours” parking.

In Downtown, ExpressPark has helped to fill up more spaces and lower average hourly rates. Spaces that are part of the program are outfitted with sensors that know when they’re full or vacant. The spots also become more or less expensive based on what time of day it is; at times when demand is usually higher, prices to park are higher. Meanwhile, parking spot location and pricing information is accessible to people looking for a spot via third-party apps like ParkMe—users see where free spots are and how much they cost, and that helps to cut down on the endless circling that parking usually involves, which in turn cuts traffic and emissions. Since ExpressPark’s been implemented, parking revenue in Downtown has increased 2.5 percent.

5.  HWPOA COMMUNICATION AND AD POLICY

Please direct all comments, questions or issues regarding the Holmby News to hwpoa@aol.com

Ads for plumbers, housekeepers, garage sales, etc. will be posted in the weekly News. Emergency situations such as coyote sightings, lost and found pets, traffic alerts and similar situations will continue to be published during the week as received.

When placing an ad, please send to hwpoa@aol.com for the Holmby News moderator to review.  Responses to ads should be directed to the ad placer, not to HWPOA.

6.  RESIDENT ADS

SEEKING PIANO TUNER

We are in need of a piano tuner. I am not looking for concert pianist quality, but for a piano used by young grand kids.
Many thanks,
avivamonosson@yahoo.com

7.  HWPOA CONTACT INFORMATION

HOLMBY WESTWOOD PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC. 
914 Westwood Blvd. Suite 573 
Los Angeles, CA 90024
310-470-1785 
Email: hwpoa@aol.com
Web site: www.holmbywestwoodpoa.org