It will soon become harder to find parking around Runyon Canyon after the Los Angeles City Council approved new rules for a strip of residential streets near the popular hiking spot.

Parking will be limited west of the canyon and north of Hollywood Boulevard, from North Curson Avenue to Laurel Canyon Boulevard, a stretch about a half-mile wide. Residents who live within the restricted area can apply for a permit from the city.

Councilor Nithya Raman, who represents the neighborhood, asked for the regulations in 2022 following complaints from residents that walkers and tourists are filling up parking spaces near their homes.

Much of the parking around Runyon Canyon is already off limits to non-residents, forcing motorists to flood residential streets west of the canyon, Raman said in a 2022 letter to the Los Angeles Department of Transportation.

Residents deserve immediate relief from the influx of parking on their streets, according to a Transportation Committee report sent to the City Council in February.

Kris Heller, a resident of North Curson Avenue, said she is grateful for the upcoming restrictions. This is a narrow street and it gets busy, especially on weekends, she said.

Another neighbor, Mary Ann Christopher, said she worried about ambulances and other emergency vehicles driving down the street when cars were lined up on both sides. She said she hoped only permit parking would be available in the area.

The municipality has not yet indicated what restrictions will apply on which streets, but the restrictions will vary from two-hour parking to no parking during certain hours without a permit.

Some Runyon Canyon hikers said the new restrictions will worsen an already challenging parking situation and will deter people from visiting the park. There is a small lot without a meter at the top of the gorge, but hikers say it fills up quickly.

We should be trying to expand, not decrease, access to the outdoors, says Hollywood Hills resident and outdoor enthusiast Lowell Goodman. I think it is very important that everyone can park there and use this space.

Runyon Canyon

attracts a lot of people

on weekends.

Hancock Park resident Scott Manlin, who lives in a permit-only parking lot south of the canyon, said he sees both sides of the issue. He walks through the canyon almost every day and tries to park

somewhere

between North La Brea Avenue and

Sierra Bonita Ave

.

“I can empathize with the owners’ perspective,” he said. They want access to a parking space near their homes, they own those homes and are entitled to it. But it is also a public good and there must be access to it.

Hikers who park on or west of North Curson Avenue can walk to the park entrances near North Vista Street or North Fuller Avenue at the bottom of the canyon. The new restrictions will encourage hikers to park more than half a mile west of these entrances.

If you came here to hike, you can walk a little further from your parking lot to get here, said Dean Neistat, who lives close enough to the canyon that he can run to it from his home.

Other hikers said busy streets are just part of the territory when you live near Runyon Canyon.

If you move here, sign up for it, said Brad Hoegl, who lives near the canyon and visits

It

often. It’s like moving to Disney World and complaining about the people.

The city council has not yet announced when street signs with the regulations will be placed.