West Hollywood Pilots Pop-Up Walkability Improvements

The city of West Hollywood, which encompasses L.A.'s famed Sunset Strip, is getting in on pop-up parklets and experimental walkability interventions. Partnering with design and planning firm Gehl Studio, the city has installed temporary pilot projects "that aim to improve walkability and create a more pedestrian-friendly environment for residents and visitors," Wehoville reports. 

The projects, dubbed "The Sunset Experience," include "light poles wrapped in bright colors with directions to nearby restaurants and clubs along with historic facts about the Strip," as well as "painted extensions of the sidewalks at key intersections, narrowing the distance to cross some streets while adding a colorful and driver-aware flair to the roadway." There's also a shaded and screened parklet located at an on-street loading zone.

The project brought on The Art of Chase, a street artist, to design the sidewalk extensions. According to the city of West Hollywood's website, the pilot project may pave the way for additional "corridor-length streetscape improvements, intersection treatments, site-specific interventions and programming suggestions to activate streetlife and improve pedestrian safety, as well as a process for using additional pop-ups to test, measure and refine changes to the design and programming of Sunset Boulevard."