Hollywood sign: Row over tourists swarming iconic attraction
It is one of the most iconic sights in the world and a real tourist draw.
But residents in the areas surrounding the world-famous Hollywood sign are devising strategies to reclaim their neighbourhood from the hoardes of tourists clogging up the narrow streets close to the iconic landmark.
Hollywood residents claim that their patience has worn thin and after years of untrammelled hospitality the floods of tourists have become a public nuisance.
Controversial: The number of tourists visiting the Hollywood sign is irritating locals
The problem has been exacerbated in recent years as GPS systems, internet maps and blogs lead tourists to previously unknown locations close to the sign.
Locals have expressed their disgruntlement through signs of their own, the latest reading: Warning Tourist-Free Zone All Tourists Leave the Area.
Others have taken photographs of illegally parked cars and posted videos on YouTube to illustrate the disruption.
They're in the middle of the street, they don't move, said area resident Ronald Page.
You have to blow your horn, cars going around, people hollering up there and what have you. It's just getting out of hand now.
Public-safety is another concern of locals. People are anxious that the influx of tourist vehicles has potential to impact the speed emergency vehicles attend to flashpoints in the neighbourhood.
Conversely, fire officials have asserted that the neighbourhood was no more congested than other hillside communities. Fire chief Joe Castro said he had never experienced difficulty reaching an emergency in the 33 ! years of service to protect the hills.
Sarajane Schwartz, president of the Hollywoodland Homeowners Association, warned that the area wasnt designed for such high-levels of tourist activity, adding they were at the end of their rope.
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Residents are failing to agree on the best solution to the problem.
Some local zealots called for the site to be omitted from internet maps completely, whilst others deemed it near impossible to prevent tourist curiosity.
Instead, they prefer to direct tourists to nearby Lake Hollywood a man-made reservoir which offers parking and a birds eye view of the sign.
Los Angeles City Councilman, Tom LaBonge, held a community meeting on Tuesday where locals had the opportunity to air their grievances.
Mr LaBonge said: We're doing our best to be sensitive to the neighbourhood, but this is our Eiffel Tower,'
The sign was erected in 1923 by Hollywoodland Real Estate Group as a billboard for its exclusive housing development later dropping the last syllable.
Few imagined the 45 foot letters would come to symbolise Los Angeles and the entertainment industry. The sign has attracted considerable attention to ensure protection in the past: from natu! re conse rvation groups to Playboy founder, Hugh Hefner, who famously donated $900,000 to protect the surrounding land from property developers.
Star City Tours guide Tim Eggers said: This is an international landmark. They should have thought of that before they bought their houses.
One LA resident agreed: If you're going to live on this street, you kind of have to accept that people are going to be coming up here, adding that tourists have visited the site for years and will continue to come.
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