Gang, Graffiti Problems Cited in Possible Tunnel Closure

A pedestrian tunnel in Mission Hills that has become a congregating area for vagrants and gang members was targeted for closure in a motion introduced Tuesday by Los Angeles City Councilman Hal Bernson.

The tunnel under the San Diego Freeway at Stranwood Avenue, between San Fernando Mission Boulevard and Rinaldi Street has been the site of “crime, encampments and graffiti,� according to the motion submitted by Bernson.

The City Council is expected to vote on the issue at a meeting in early January, but a Bernson spokeswoman said he is confident the motion will be approved.

“All [the pedestrian tunnels] are dangerous, and this one is especially dangerous,� said Francine Oschin, Bernson’s assistant chief deputy.

The Mission Hills tunnel has become a homeless encampment, occupied by people with aggressive dogs, she said. “They made people feel uncomfortable. They were keeping out the children who used it to get under the freeway.�

Los Angeles Police Department officials have reported bonfires and gang activity in the tunnel, as well as one incident in which a child was attacked while walking through the tunnel.

In the past other pedestrian tunnels with similar problems were closed temporarily by the Bureau of Street Maintenance, then put on a list of those that would be closed permanently by the Bureau of Engineering.

The tunnels were originally put in as a safe and convenient method of traveling by foot around the city while bypassing heavy traffic, Oschin said.

“It’s unfortunate that our society has changed so that we cannot use them,� she said.