LOS ANGELES _ Though its terrazzo sidewalks and stars show off the glitz of Los Angeles to the world, the Hollywood Walk of Fame often feels decidedly short on glamour of its own.
That may change under a new makeover proposed for the iconic boulevard.
Los Angeles City Councilman Mitch O'Farrell unveiled a 90-page proposal on Thursday aimed at creating a less gritty, more welcoming atmosphere for the millions of tourists who visit the Walk of Fame each year.
The proposal could help the boulevard feel more like famous streets in other world capitals, including the Avenue des Champs-Elysees in Paris, with plans for wider sidewalks, more shade trees and more space for sidewalk dining _ and far less space for drivers.
"The boulevard hasn't reached its full potential _ not by a longshot," said O'Farrell, whose district includes Hollywood. "We're very optimistic that we can see real change on this historic boulevard within a number of years."
The proposal would narrow Hollywood Boulevard to a center turn lane and one travel lane in each direction roughly between La Brea Avenue and Vine Street. If approved, the changes would be among the boldest yet for a major street in Los Angeles, where taking away space from drivers has sparked outcry and controversy.
Eliminating a vehicle travel lane and a parking lane in each direction would create enough space to widen the sidewalks along the Walk of Fame to 25 feet on each side. The city could also add a protected lane for bicyclists and scooters, the proposal said.
That type of lane reduction has proved controversial in Los Angeles, including in Playa del Rey, where the elimination of a traffic lane in 2017 sparked a massive outcry and a failed recall attempt against Councilman Mike Bonin.
Business owners and residents in Hollywood have seemed open-minded to the concept of a "road diet," as lane reductions are often called, O'Farrell said. Any change would be preceded by extensive public outreach and input, he said.
"We can't just suddenly say, 'OK, road diet coming!' and call it a day," O'Farrell said. "We've seen what that has done on the Westside and we know it can backfire very badly."
O'Farrell said it would be "premature" to endorse any of the plan's specific proposals before his office receives more public feedback. He will pursue "revisions and fine-tuning" and more funding for the project before construction could begin, he said.
The plan sparked some early concern among tour bus operators, who said that reducing travel lanes could increase congestion for the bus and van drivers who drive the boulevard.
"It has the potential to be a mess," said Jeff Napshin, the owner of Star Track Tours, one of roughly two dozen companies that operate on the boulevard.
A unified street design that would make the boulevard feel more like Rodeo Drive is a good idea, Napshin said, but he's concerned that added traffic snarls or restrictions on where tour bus companies can pick up and drop off passengers could hurt their business.
"We want to drive up and down and give people that view," Napshin said. "You feel like you're the star of the show, seeing the Dolby Theatre and the El Capitan and the (TCL) Chinese Theatre up close. I hope we'll be able to keep doing that, because that's the whole show."
Gregg Donovan, who can greet tourists in 100 languages as a guide for LA City Tours, said expanding the Walk of Fame sidewalks would make the often-congested street safer. Tourists have been known to trip and fall on the crowded paths, he said, and drivers have hit pedestrians in the street.
Large swaths of the boulevard are included on LA's high-injury network, the 6% of city streets that account for the lion's share of fatal traffic crashes involving pedestrians and bicyclists. The changes, O'Farrell said, would make the street "much safer."
Donovan, the longtime tour guide, said the changes probably wouldn't lead to a drop in business, because, he said, "people will never stop taking tours."
The document also floats the idea of creating "flexible event plazas," or areas that could be blocked off from vehicle traffic with removable metal posts called bollards. The tactic is commonly used in Europe but rarely in Los Angeles.
The plan has about $4.1 million secured, some of which paid for the document released Thursday, O'Farrell's office said.
The Hollywood proposal comes two days after San Francisco banned cars from one of the busiest streets in the city.
The 1.9-mile stretch of Market Street through downtown is now exclusively for transit vehicles, taxis, paratransit and people on foot, bicycles and scooters. Traffic on Market had gradually filtered out over a decade as officials added more restrictions and detours.
