Fountain Avenue began as a neighborhood street. In the 1960s it was lined with trees, built for pedestrians, and as narrow as 40 feet in places, according to the City of West Hollywood's Engage WeHo project page. Before West Hollywood became a city, Los Angeles County widened it to carry more traffic by narrowing the sidewalks and taking out street trees. For anyone who has used Fountain as the alternative to Sunset or Santa Monica Boulevard, that widened road is the only Fountain they know.
The project now heading to construction partly reverses that history. Most of the change shows up at the curb, and the north and south sides come out very differently.
Two Votes, Same Split
The City Council first approved Phase 1 of the Fountain Avenue Streetscape Project on Sept. 15, 2025, by a 3-2 vote. On Oct. 19, 2026, the Council took the question up again. Councilmember Lauren Meister proposed studying a different design that would drop the protected bike lane, keep current parking, and still cut the road to one travel lane each way with a center turn lane. Beverly Press reported that the motion failed 3-2. Every councilmember voted the same way as in 2025. Chelsea Byers, John Erickson and Danny Hang kept the approved plan, and John Heilman and Lauren Meister supported reconsidering it.
Money was part of the debate. The city's Oct. 19 staff report lists a $4,609,000 construction allocation for the project from a California Air Resources Board Sustainable Transportation Equity Project grant. It warns that removing the protected bikeways would depart from the approved grant scope and could put that money at risk unless CARB approved the change. The same report estimates Phase 1 construction at $2,410,095. That figure does not include resurfacing the corridor, which staff were assessing separately.
So the design residents have seen at community meetings, including the one held at Plummer Park, is the design that will be built.
What Gets Built Between La Brea and La Cienega
Phase 1 runs along Fountain Avenue from La Brea Avenue to La Cienega Boulevard. The city describes that West Hollywood corridor as about 1.85 miles long. According to the city's project page, Phase 1 includes:
- Protected bike lanes separated from traffic by a concrete curb
- One vehicle lane in each direction
- High-visibility crosswalks
- Painted curb extensions on side streets, some with self-watering planters
- Curbside parking on the south side next to the bikeway, plus one north-side stretch covered below
- Repaving of the entire street
- Bicycle counters that show their numbers publicly
The materials explain why Phase 1 can be built relatively quickly. The 2025 staff report calls it a set of near-term safety improvements built mostly from materials attached to the road surface. These include thermoplastic striping, speed wedges inside the painted curb extensions, extruded concrete curbs, and new in-asphalt bicycle detectors that trigger the existing traffic signals. The overall width of the street stays the same. The lane layout inside it changes.
The Parking Arithmetic
The tradeoff is clearest in the parking numbers. The figures below come from the city's September 2025 staff report.
| Fountain Avenue parking | Approximate spaces |
|---|---|
| Existing on-street spaces | 337 |
| Removed in Phase 1 | 210 |
| Removed from the north side | 140 |
| Removed from the south side for sightlines at intersections and driveways | 70 |
| Remaining after Phase 1 | about 127 |
Losing about 210 of roughly 337 spaces takes away close to two-thirds of the street's curb parking. The October 2026 staff report rounds the share to about 60 percent. The losses are not spread evenly along the street. The city put most of the removals on the north side because it already has fewer spaces, since it has more driveways than the south side. The corridor has 120 active driveways in total.
The north side keeps one stretch. Parking stays on the north side west of Olive Drive, because that segment has no westbound bikeway.
The South Curb Gets More Useful
The south side keeps fewer spaces than it has now, but the ones that remain will be available longer. The staff report says the peak-hour parking restrictions on Fountain would be eliminated, so south-side parking would be available at all times except during street sweeping.
Today, a peak-hour restriction turns a curb lane into a travel lane during commute hours. With one vehicle lane in each direction, Fountain no longer needs that extra lane, so the curb can stay curb all day. For someone on the south side who parks on the street, the new layout could mean easier access at 5:30 p.m. than they have now.
The city also expects less traffic overall. The 2025 staff report cites a forecast of 40 percent lower traffic volume during peak hours under the new layout. A street with one lane each way and less through traffic works more like the local street Fountain was before the county widened it.
The North Curb Moves Around the Corner
North-side residents will see the biggest change in daily routines. Once Phase 1 is finished, drivers can no longer pick up or drop off passengers at the north curb, because a stopped car would block the single travel lane. The staff report states it directly: "Loading would have to occur on side streets."
That affects rideshare pickups, grocery runs, and anyone helping an older relative into a car. The report notes that the city does not usually create on-street ADA spaces in residential neighborhoods, but it says ADA spaces could be added on side streets as needed to improve access to the north side.
The side streets will carry more of the load, and some of them already have turn rules. The approved plans keep every existing turn restriction on Fountain at five intersections:
- Harper Avenue
- Havenhurst Drive
- Hayworth Avenue
- Curson Avenue
- Formosa Avenue
Before the vote, the project steering committee was divided on whether to keep these restrictions. Some members argued that a street with 40 percent less peak traffic and fewer opposing lanes would not need them. Others worried that changing too much at once could push effects into the surrounding blocks. The city plans a traffic study after construction to see how patterns actually shift, and it says further measures could follow right away or as part of Phase 2. So the turn rules are being kept for now and will be reviewed after the street opens.
How Fire Access Was Handled
Many residents ask how fire engines will get through on a two-lane street. The Los Angeles County Central Fire Prevention Office reviewed and approved the 30 percent plans on April 22, 2025. Its input shaped the turning radii, the lane widths for hook-and-ladder trucks, and hydrant access. The speed wedges were chosen as low-profile features so emergency vehicles can cross any part of the street. The staff report also notes that the painted buffer areas give crews room to stage equipment and set ladder-truck stabilizers.
When the Work Starts
The October 2026 staff report described the Phase 1 plans as 100 percent designed, with final consultant edits underway, and said construction was anticipated to begin in the fourth quarter of 2026. Beverly Press likewise reported that work was expected to begin before the end of the year. When the Council first approved it, staff estimated Phase 1 could be built within 16 to 18 months, assuming no major design changes.
Phase 2 goes further. It is a full reconstruction of Fountain that would bring curb ramps up to ADA standards, widen sidewalks where feasible, add landscaping, change traffic signals, and relocate both underground and overhead utilities for a street design the city calls "neighborhood-oriented." The city says Phase 2 planning starts in the second half of 2026 and will have its own Engage WeHo page. For now, the Fountain Avenue project page is where the city posts updates and takes comments through its Your Feedback tab.
Changes to how a street parks and loads tend to show up in property questions: where guests park, how deliveries reach the door, what a buyer sees on a weekday evening. If you own on or near Fountain and want to think through what the new curb means for your property, Getzels Group is glad to talk it through privately. Work With Us.