The Reimagine Ventura project, after years of planning, community meetings and changes, broke ground this week on the west end of Ventura Blvd.
The program seeks to “Reimagine Ventura Boulevard” as a neighborhood-scaled Main Street for Woodland Hills that supports local business and creates a better sense of place for nearby residents by providing additional parking, enhanced landscaping and improvement for those who walk.
Highlights of the project include a new signal at Ventura and Royer, new diagonal parking along Ventura, a new median with greenery, more trees and more pedestrian crosswalks.
The project was sparked by community members who enlisted the Woodland Hills-Warner Center Neighborhood Council and West Valley Warner Center Chamber of Commerce for input.
Local resident and architect Dennis DiBiase and commercial real estate broker Scott Silverstein were instrumental in the initiation of the plan.
Councilman Bob Blumenfield secured funding for the in-depth study of the half-mile stretch of Ventura between Royer and Sale Avenue. Numerous community meetings were held to get input from local residents and business owners.
The Los Angeles Department of Transportation and consultant Sam Schwartz Engineering have released a report with the proposed modifications.
The full Reimagine Ventura report and detailed renderings of the proposed changes can be found at blumenfieldcity.org/reimagine_ventura.
Breaking ground on Ventura Blvd. are from left: Kathy Davis, President of the West Valley Warner Center Chamber, Diana Williams, CEO of the chamber, architect Dennis DiBiase, one of the originators of the Reimagine project, Councilman Bob Blumenfield, Seleta Reynolds, General Manager of the Los Angeles Dept. of Transportion, commercial real estate broker Scott Silverstein, another of the original consultants to the project, and Karl Makinen, owner of the Local Peasant on the east end of Ventura Blvd.
