Meeting was Feb. 26

Angela Babcock of Stratiscope, the community relations group, encouraged people with concerns, comments or criticisms to reach out directly to her at angela@stratiscope.com

Traffic-related matters were the only topic

* Dashboard resident placards: (The brightly colored cards you put in your car to pass security during Bowl nights) Key question was how to distribute the cards to make sure all residents receive them. Suggestions included changing the size to allow them to be mailed, better outreach by neighborhood groups, offer show vouchers with the placards as an incentive. Also, allow entry for cars with neighborhood parking tags, i.e. 99 in Whitley Heights. * Hard closures: Highland/Milner/Camrose intersection will be closed again this season for Bowl events with at least 10,000 in audience. Initial closure dates are expected to be announced by May, but may change during the season depending on sales forecasts. For Whitley Heights, traffic will be restricted to residents with dashboard placards. Guards will be posted at entrances along Franklin, i.e. Grace, Whitley and Las Palmas. Residents can't enter or exit at Milner during hard closure events. (Emergency vehicles will have access). A police officer will be posted at Bonair and Whitley Terrace to prevent drivers from getting stuck at the Las Palmas/Milner intersection. (See attached PDF for visual). Lyft drivers and those using Waze will be rerouted during hard closures. Uber isn't fully onboard yet.  * Complaints about hard closures: People on Outpost side had multiple complaints, including inability to get to their homes, drivers speeding on Outpost, too much traffic using Outpost, concerns that emergency vehicles wouldn't be able to access. Some asked whether it'd be possible to open Camrose & Milner during showtimes and then reclose when everyone's leaving, but response from traffic experts was pretty firm NO, because it would undercut efforts to train people. Whitley folks: Let me and/or Angela know if you have problems, concerns, suggestions. Also, let us know if you like the hard closures. * Regional coordination: To avoid super gridlock, the Bowl is trying to work with other local venues to make sure that Hollywood Boulevard closures for movie premieres or other events don't coincide with big shows. They also asked for input from residents beyond Outpost and Whitley Heights who may face collateral impact from Bowl traffic and rerouting.

* Parking lots: This year's big innovation is allowing credit card payment for parking in the Bowl's lots. Previously, they only accepted cash, which slowed entrances. In one or two years, they'll accept alternatives, such as prepaid printouts, QR codes or Apple Pay. They'll still take cash. * Future wishlist: A left turn lane from Northbound Highland at Odin to speed up rideshare and parking traffic. Reversible lane signage to facilitate exit and entry. * June 1 is the annual Bowl pancake breakfast! And Ramon Grijalva is in talks with Angela about hosting a Bowl outreach event at his house with free donuts on a Saturday to be determined, possibly this month (March)

Feel free to reply, comment, share this message with neighbors   Your Whitley Heights rep John Gittelsohn, johngittel@gmail.com 6636 Emmet Terrace, Los Angeles, CA 90068