Obama to Dine at George Clooney's House; Traffic Delays Expected

As you may already know, President Barack Obama is making one of his visits to Los Angeles on Thursday, May 10th, and so there might be an impact, hopefully minimal, on traffic in parts of the 5th Council District and other areas of Los Angeles, that night.

Precise information about any president’s motorcade route is always kept secret and subject to change, for obvious reasons involving individual safety and national security. What we know is that President Obama will arrive at Los Angeles International Airport roughly at 6pm on Thursday; he will then travel by helicopter and motorcade to an event being held at George Clooney’s home in Studio City. Upon departure from that event, President Obama is expected to travel to the Beverly Hills area and a hotel there. On Friday morning, he will go back to LAX and the plane that will be there.

That means that Valley, Hillside and Westside neighborhoods and commuters could conceivably experience some impact.

The most dramatic impacts are as follows:

North of Ventura Boulevard, any motorists on Laurel Canyon Boulevard or its connecting streets will likely face delays and/or road closures from around 5 to 8 p.m.

Local access to Studio City south of Ventura Boulevard will be closed off from around 8 to 10 p.m., and all local residents must be able to present a current photo ID to be given access.

There will definitely be some road closures and security measures in and around Fryman Canyon and perhaps elsewhere. The LAPD has suggested that residents in the Fryman Canyon general vicinity either stay at home during that time or plan to be elsewhere entirely during that period of time.  The LAPD also urges people who are not local residents there to stay out of the area during that period of time.

Ventura Boulevard should stay open, as hopefully should Laurel Canyon Boulevard north of Ventura, though there may be some ripple effect from any local and adjacent street closures or by the motorcade itself or related vehicles.

Hopefully, you will experience no inconvenience or delays during the President’s brief visit.