Children’s Parade on Ventura Blvd. Steps on a Few Toes

First, the good news: Encino is staging a parade Sunday to mark the 50th anniversary of its chamber of commerce and to salute the community’s youth.

The bad news, at least to some people, is that they will be closing a portion of Ventura Boulevard to do it. And while it is the first time in recent memory that busy Ventura Boulevard has been completely closed for such an event, it may very well be the last.

“I personally don’t think I would ever do it again and live to talk about it,” laughed Jan Sobel, the parade’s chief organizer and executive director of the Encino Chamber of Commerce.

“It was such a major undertaking to close a major artery in the Valley . . .,” she said.

Several businesses, a homeowners’ group and the Los Angeles Police Department did not rush to support the idea of closing the boulevard.

1,000 Children

Nonetheless, local politicians will accompany about 1,000 schoolchildren when the “Encino Celebrates Youth” parade steps off at 10 a.m. Sunday at Libbit Avenue and Ventura Boulevard. The event, which will also include drill teams, bands, horses and community groups, is meant as an expression of pride in Encino, Sobel said.

About 9:30 a.m., Ventura Boulevard will be closed to all traffic from Libbit to Genesta Avenue, where the parade is to end in Encino Park. The boulevard is expected to reopen about 11:30 a.m., Sobel said.

On the parade route, of course, about the only traffic during the event will consist of marchers. Juan Valdez, manager of Eddie Saul’s Restaurant on Ventura Boulevard, doesn’t figure it will do much for his Sunday brunch crowd.

“The customers won’t be able to cross the street,” Valdez said. “Maybe I’ll be busy after the parade,” he said.

Valdez and representatives of a few other businesses that will be open when the parade starts said they are resigned to losing some customers. They don’t mind, they said, because they want to be good neighbors.

“It’s our busiest morning of the week,” said Phil Avitia, manager of Solley’s restaurant in Encino. But he added, “You have to go along with their event. We are in Encino, and we chose to be in Encino.”

In response to merchants’ concerns, Sobel said: “We understand that, but for two hours in a lifetime, you have to show the youth of Encino . . . that there is a sense of community.”

Although the Encino Property Owners Assn. supports the parade, a rival group, Homeowners of Encino, made “a conscious decision” not to support it, said that group’s president, Gerald Silver. Silver’s group isn’t opposing the event either, he said, but members worried about closing Ventura Boulevard and thought their efforts would be better spent fighting overdevelopment and billboard clutter.

Not Encouraged

Los Angeles police also had reservations about closing the boulevard, but the parade permit was granted by the Police Commission. “We don’t encourage events on Ventura Boulevard,” said Officer Sharyn Michelson, who is in charge of special events for the Police Department. “It is a major thoroughfare . . . . Our concerns are inconveniencing the public.”

Officials of the city Department of Public Works cannot recall any event that closed Ventura Boulevard entirely, said Neil Spiva, chief coordinator of street maintenance for the department. Individual lanes of the boulevard recently were closed during two races, one for runners and one for bicyclists, he said.

But police expect no traffic problems on parade day because traffic usually is light on Sunday morning, Sgt. John Ahrens said.