Streets surrounding Hollywood Bowl will close on show nights in test program

(FOX 11) - Getting to the Hollywood Bowl during show nights always means getting snarled in the worst kind of traffic.

The city is testing a new program to try and eliminate gridlock and closing off some streets will affect everyone including residents.

Naomi Kobrin has waited for this day for more than a decade. She and other residents of the historic
Hollywood Heights neighborhood have been trying to get the city to close streets around the bowl during concerts for years.

"I felt so relieved, we all felt happy, everyone was out..We felt like we wanted to have a party." said Kobrin.

Tonight, while Grammy winning singer Seal takes the stage, the city began a test program closing Camrose and Milner off of Highland up through the million dollar hillside neighborhoods.

An area that residents say has been plagued by unruly concert goers for years.

"And we've got trash... And we've got vomit and we've got hot dogs and we've got terrible things that are left on our neighborhood." said Hollywood Heights neighborhood. Assn. Vice President, Kobrin.

The problems, residents say compounded in recent years by navigation apps like Waze.

"Nobody knew about how to cut thru all the streets... But these streets aren't set up for that. These streets when you get to the top of sycamore it becomes one lane and it becomes impassable."said fifteen year resident Todd Henricks.

But not all residents were pleased with the barricades.

"This is not the solution it's a very huge inconvenience to the residents who live here. " said America Braislin.

And the closure itself got off to a rocky start. Residents say, they were told the streets would be shut down beginning at 5 o'clock but bowl officials didn't put up the barriers until 6 pm.

So far, the city has planned street closures for three additional concert dates. For residents, it's a welcome reprieve from the chaos they say disrupts their lives dozens of nights a year.

These pilot street closures will take place on July 18th, August 5th, August 9th, and September 10th between 5pm- 10pm.