Living beneath one of the world’s most famous landmarks, the iconic Hollywood sign, Rhoda Coleman and her neighbors are fed up with the traffic, chaotic scenes and harassment that comes from visitors. She and others in her community are calling on city leaders to take action and help fix the problem.
CBS News California Investigates obtained data from traffic cameras posted in the area, which recorded 14,300 vehicles in the area during a 14-day period in February 2024. In 2025, the number during the same stretch grew to 25,000. In 2026, it was 32,300. The spike over the last two years: 124%.
Coleman and some of her neighbors said their Hollywood Hills neighborhood is constantly overrun with tourists crowding their yards, choking their streets and even relieving themselves in the bushes, they believe it’s for social media fame. Neighbors said people will come take pictures and film videos with the sign in the background.
“I live in constant fear of a fire,” Coleman said.
The neighbors’ greatest fear is a repeat of the Palisades Fire, when people abandoned their cars, which blocked fire trucks from getting to burning homes.
“Fire safety and evacuation is our top priority and we all worry about it on a daily basis,” said Gavin Martin, a resident.
Two days after the Palisades and Eaton fires erupted on Jan. 7, 2025, the Sunset Fire broke out in the Hollywood Hills. An evacuation order was issued, but residents said tourists kept coming to the Hollywood sign. Cindy Cobb recorded herself pleading with visitors to leave.
She was concerned the cars sitting on the narrow roadways would block fire trucks and evacuees. That same day, she collected more than 500 cigarette butts and a lighter, even though smoking is banned in the area.
Neighbors said visitors smoke, despite warning signs posted every few feet.
CBS News California Investigates witnessed the impact congestion has on first responders during a visit in April.
A fire truck had to slow down around cars, sometimes double-parked, to get to a fire that broke out in the canyon. Only a few minutes earlier, the team saw a Jeep parked in the wrong direction hop the curb after a pick-up truck rolled into it.
Three men who had been in the truck tried to stop the CBS News California Investigates team from reporting what happened. At one point, one of the men shoved our photojournalist. The police were called, and the men were notified that California laws allow journalists to record in public areas.
But neighbors said that type of chaos is getting worse every year, as social media influencers direct followers to the best views of the sign. Neighbors said there are growing concerns over public health.
They said the reason for that is the food vendors that crowds attract, but who are often unlicensed. The merchants often leave behind plastic gloves, sanitary wipes and even used toilet paper in and around bushes along the road for emergency vehicles.
Sabine El Mayel-D’Herbecourt called it a health hazard.
“When the vendors come and they pee here and they can’t wash their hands, then they go and cut fruits and serve the tourists,” she said.
She believes the city needs to install bathrooms so that vendors and visitors can have clean facilities to wash their hands after they relieve themselves.
LA City Councilmember Nithya Raman, who is currently running for LA mayor, represents the area near the sign. She also shares the idea of providing infrastructure such as restrooms. Raman also believes there needs to be more enforcement of licensing for food vendors, even though the California legislature passed a law to decriminalize street vending in 2019.
She said a consulting firm has been brought in to address community complaints. Raman added that the firm is putting together a traffic management plan that would resemble the current plan used at the Hollywood Bowl.
“This would involve, I think likely, a hard closure at Canyon Lake Drive and then soft closures at some of the other entry and egress points,” Raman said.
Raman said her office helped to install the traffic cameras, in addition to fencing that has been added to block views of the sign in areas where it’s especially dangerous for tourists to pull over for selfies. But residents said those actions haven’t reduced the crowds.
The council member promised that more action will be taken relatively soon.
In mid-May, the city put in new signs to restrict parking on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. But neighbors said that’s done little to stop people from parking illegally. Raman said the next step will likely be stepping up ticketing and towing.
During a news conference on crime rates, LA Mayor Karen Bass said, “I think that we need to step up enforcement and I’m going to make sure that that happens.”
Frustrated neighbors said they’ll believe it when they see it. Daisy Chen Hutton said she’s not an elitist. She and her neighbors accept the fact that they live near a landmark that only exploded in popularity in recent years because of social media and map apps.
“We are happy to share, but there needs to be some sort of accountability from our government,” Hutton said. “We can’t have a free-for-all traffic situation. It just doesn’t make any sense.”
Coleman has lived in her home since 1975. She said when she first moved in, there were forest rangers who were assigned to the area and they would patrol, but now that’s gone.
“I’ve been in this area since 1976,” said Chip Matthews, a resident. “It has only been over the past few years that our politicians have failed us.”
The LAFD said that since 2006, the city has implemented red flag parking restrictions during strong wind events. Enforcement includes the towing of cars.
Some neighbors have suggested a shuttle system to limit the number of visitors to the area. Bass said such an idea is worth considering, but costs to the city would be a factor.