Getting to the Hollywood sign could take only six traffic-free minutes if Warner Bros. has its way. As a means of solving the problem of congestion on roads and hiking trails leading to the famed attraction, the entertainment company says it will pay to build a mile-long, pay-per-ride tramway that would drop visitors close to the sign and a planned visitors center. The proposal—estimated to cost $100 million, per the Los Angeles Times—would benefit Warner Bros. as well as selfie-seeking visitors since those visitors would depart from the studio's Burbank lot, which includes other attractions and exhibits. But it remains only a plan, and not an original one. Trams have been proposed before, and Alex von Furstenberg, son of fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg, is actually leading a separate effort to build a gondola to the sign, Variety reports.
"We understand there are a number of possible solutions being considered, but we are confident the city's feasibility study will show our proposal to be the best option," one "that can be built and operated at no cost to the taxpayer," a studio rep tells the Hollywood Reporter; Warner Bros. would foot the entire bill. "Warner Bros. coming out with a concrete proposal increases the feasibility and brings it some credibility," Hollywood Chamber of Commerce President Leron Gubler adds of the tram idea, noting "it should be able to reroute a significant amount of people going up into the neighborhoods." Warner Bros. says it will share ticket revenue with the city and protect and preserve Griffith Park, home to mountain lions and the gray fox. Even so, neighborhood groups and environmental activists could kick up a fuss. (More Warner Bros. stories.)
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