Increased enforcement and planned structural changes are part of local authorities’ response to the ongoing cases of “illegal and unsafe activity” on the Sixth Street Viaduct, two weeks after its much touted opening.
Late Tuesday night, the Los Angeles PoliceDepartment announced on social media that it was closing the span “until further notice due to rising illegal activity and safety concerns.” Some news outlets said the closure was due to a large group of cyclists who took over the bridge’s main traffic lanes.
The bridge reopened on Wednesday morning.
Tuesday’s was the fourth overnight bridge closing since Friday .
Numerous street takeovers, graffiti, crashes, parked cars and dangerous social media stunts have resulted in 57 traffic citations and six vehicles being impounded on the bridge over the past four days, according to LAPD Chief Michel Moore. The chief said that most illegal acts on the bridge were committed by people who do not live in the communities that surround the structure.
Officials are now looking into ways of addressing the mounting incidents being constantly reported by news media.
According to a July 24 Press Release, LAPD Operations Central Bureau has directed Central and Hollenbeck Divisions to work with the city’s Central Street Raising Task Force to address those incidents. Enforcement actions will include citations issues to street racing violators and spectators who contribute to the them. There has been an ongoing effort by police to increase patrols in the area.
Police say that speed bumps and a traffic median will soon be installed on the bridge, to help address concerns around street takeovers and dangerous speed displays. There have also been conversations of adding higher fencing on the pedestrian side of the bridge to address issues with people walking, sitting and sometimes even skating over its arches.
The $588M Bridge opened on July 10, six years after the original bridge was closed and demolished, and quickly became a center of attention in local news and on social media.
