September Newsbites

In This Issue—

* Save the Date: October 26
* Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project
* Red Flag Days
* 405 Weekend Closures
* School Traffic

***Save the Date:  October 26***  Please mark your calendars and plan to attend BAHA’s annual Fall Festival at Roscomare Circle Park (south end of Roscomare Road) on Sunday, October 26, 2025, from 3:00 to 5:00 pm. Expect fun activities for the kids, refreshments, treats for all, and good conversations with your neighbors. Residents, young or young-at-heart, are welcome to attend in costume. This is a neighborhood activity and all residents of Bel Air Hills are invited, regardless of BAHA membership.  We hope to see everyone on October 26.

***Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project***  Bel Air Beverly Crest Neighborhood Council (BABCNC) formed an ad hoc committee to review the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the proposed Sepulveda Transit Corridor options that Metro is considering. Representatives from BAHA served on that Committee. The Committee met over a 5 week period, hearing from various members and community groups regarding the issue. Those community groups included representatives from the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association, The Getty Museum, UCLA, the Bel Air Association, Westwood, as well as geological experts. From those meetings the Committee and BABCNC issued a "Community Impact Statement" (CIS) to the Metro Board, which included the concerns of the various groups, including BAHA. A copy of that CIS letter is attached for your review.  

BABCNC_STC_DEIR20250828.pdf

BAHA will continue to keep our members and community at large updated on this issue.
 

***Red Flag Days***  Fire season has started and Red Flag days can be expected soon. The City of Los Angeles declares a Red Flag Day when the weather conditions are such that the potential for a fast-moving brush fire is extremely high. The conditions are defined as wind speeds 25 mph or more and humidity 15% or less. Enforcement had been lax in recent years but after the January fires, we can expect stronger enforcement. That means that cars parked in a red flag zone on a Red Flag day could be towed without notice.  Also, remember that cars moved out of red flag zones may be parked in front of other neighbor's homes and have a legal right to do so. When that happens, please be understanding and remember that it’s for the good of everyone in the neighborhood. To receive notices of Red Flag days and to view a map of red flag parking restricted areas, click here Red Flag | Los Angeles Fire Department. 

***405 Weekend Closures***   Recently, BAHA has kept you informed about Caltrans weekend closures on the 405 Freeway through the Sepulveda Pass. The next scheduled weekend closing is for September 19-22.  There will be more weekend closures in the future (Caltrans says about 25 weekend closures every two weeks) as well as nighttime work during the week. Caltrans reliably keeps commuters informed about the various closures if you sign up for their notices.  To sign up go to: https://forms.office.com/g/0RU7MzXNDK 

Here are the details of the September 19-22 weekend closure:

The work will start at 10 p.m. Friday, Sept.19 through 5 a.m. Monday, Sept. 22. Motorists traveling along I-405 will experience the following lane reductions and ramp closures: 
 
Northbound Interstate 405 
•    Northbound I-405 will be reduced to three lanes between Santa Monica Boulevard to just north of Sunset Boulevard 
•    Santa Monica Boulevard on-ramp closed 
•    Wilshire Boulevard off-ramp closed 
•    Eastbound and westbound Wilshire Boulevard on-ramps to northbound I-405 closed 
•    Sunset Boulevard on/off-ramps closed 
•    Sepulveda Boulevard/Moraga Drive off-ramp closed 
 
Southbound Interstate 405 
•    Southbound I-405 will be reduced to three lanes just north of Sunset Boulevard to eastbound Wilshire Boulevard  
•    Sunset Boulevard/Church Lane on/off-ramps closed 
•    Westbound Wilshire Boulevard on-ramp to southbound I-405 closed 

***School Traffic***  The August Newsbites alerted readers to expect increased traffic when classes at Roscomare Road Elementary School (RRES) opened after summer vacation. We noted that the newly installed 3-way stop signs at the school’s exit driveway (opposite from the parking entrance to RRES) would result in better movement of traffic, and definitely, a safer environment  for the school children and their families. We have been informed that the stop signs have helped with the flow of traffic by the school and have slowed down speeding drivers. That’s certainly good news!