Al Fresco Dining Comes To North Hollywood With Partial Street Closure
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — The Los Angeles Department of Transportation Friday implemented the first partial street closure for the Los Angeles Al Fresco program in North Hollywood.
A parking lane and eastbound travel lane on Magnolia Boulevard between Lankershim Boulevard and Vineland Avenue has been converted to allow outdoor dining, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation said.
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"We've empowered business owners and neighbors to tell us how they would like to use streets," LADOT General Manager Seleta Reynolds said. "In hundreds of places across the city, they've told us that creating places for people to safely gather is a priority."
The dining area will serve several restaurants that will be able to offer outdoor dining in accordance with social distancing guidelines.
L.A. Al Fresco aims to help local businesses reopen safely, and allow customers and employees to maintain physical distancing, by temporarily relaxing the rules that regulate outdoor dining.
The restaurants partnered with the office of Councilman Paul Krekorian to request and collaborate with the city on the partial street closure.
"Our NoHo Al Fresco program will be a lifesaver for some of the extraordinary independent restaurants that make the NoHo Arts District what it is," Krekorian said.
"L.A. restaurants and their employees have suffered so much during this pandemic, and this program will provide dining opportunities for patrons who are eager to meet in a safe and socially-distanced environment."
To date, 1667 businesses have been approved for an L.A. Al Fresco outdoor dining permit.
LADOT said it is planning additional street closures in communities throughout Los Angeles, including Little Tokyo, Leimert Park and Silverlake.
More information about the program is available at corona- virus.la/laalfresco.
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)