The south-bank river path between Whitsett Avenue and Laurel Canyon Boulevard is a short walk. In 2026 it also picked up a federal grant, a pending City Council file, a neighborhood council request for volunteer access and a share of the money tied to the biggest housing approval on Ventura Boulevard this year. No single plan or agency covers all of it. Each effort has its own sponsor, budget and timeline, and those timelines run from a few weeks to about 2033.
Changes will arrive in stages, and the first ones will be small and easy to miss.
The Path You Walk Today
Studio City has river frontage on both banks. On the north bank, the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority lists the Zev Yaroslavsky LA River Greenway Trail as a half-mile walking path with designed gates and interpretive panels. In 2020, PBS SoCal placed Kevin Carman's mural "The Mighty Steelhead" on the North Valleyheart Riverwalk. The same piece described the Snake Wall, the Butterfly Bench and Lahni Baruck's Great Toad Gate, just east of Laurel Canyon, on the separate south-bank Valleyheart Greenway.
The lighting has improved more recently. LA Recreation and Parks approved replacing damaged wired lights with solar lights on new poles along the Laurel Canyon to Whitsett path. The department's fiscal 2024–25 project report lists that work as complete. In September 2025, the Studio City Neighborhood Council reported that solar lights had also gone up on the walking path between Whitsett and Coldwater Canyon, after earlier fixtures were vandalized.
The plantings along the bank are newer than they look. River restoration started here in 2016, and TreePeople has been handling the work of introducing, establishing and managing native species. Most of the plans below build on that work.
Four Efforts, Ordered by How Soon They Could Reach the Path
- Volunteer access between Whitsett and Laurel Canyon. At its October 28, 2026 meeting, the Neighborhood Council passed a motion asking for right-of-entry and the other approvals needed to run volunteer cleanup and invasive-plant removal on this stretch. The motion authorized no spending, and event, insurance and safety arrangements still have to be coordinated with the city.
- Palm removal on the north bank. MRCA plans to remove invasive Mexican fan palms on the Zev Yaroslavsky Greenway in phases. MRCA rejected the first bid on the contract, which was the only one it received, and put the work back out to bid.
- A federally funded south-bank project with a proposed new name. Rep. Brad Sherman announced on February 3, 2026 that $250,000 in federal Community Project Funding had been signed into law for the Whitsett to Laurel Canyon south bank. The scope includes native landscaping, public lighting, access pathways and seating. A related City Council file, CF 26-1471, carries the title "LA River Greenway Studio City Habitat Restoration, Beautification and Safety Project / Melanie Winter LA RiverWay." The file was received October 14, 2026 and is pending in committee.
- Greenway money tied to the Riverwalk approval. The Neighborhood Council's draft October 28 minutes say City Council approved the Riverwalk project on October 21. The negotiated conditions include roughly $375,000 for "Segment 8" greenway improvements, $300,000 for Recreation and Parks greenway work and 23 additional shade trees. The same report puts a possible construction start in 2027 and completion around 2033, depending on approvals or litigation.
Read in order, the list starts with work that needs only permission and a crew of volunteers. Next come projects that need a contractor, then a project that needs City Council action. The last item depends on a construction schedule that could run seven years from now.
Why Palm Removal Comes Before New Planting
The palm project explains a lot about why this stretch is being handled in phases. In a September 2026 motion supporting MRCA's plan, the Neighborhood Council said the palms drop large amounts of fronds that crush and damage the native understory. It also said the falling fronds are a hazard to people on the trail and to the high school athletic complex next to it. The council's view is that removing the palms will help the native riparian trees planted since 2016 grow.
That ties into the federal project. Sherman's release lists native landscaping first in the south-bank scope. The volunteer motion asks for access to remove invasive species on that same south-bank stretch. New plantings will do better once the invasive plants around them are cleared, so the clearing comes first.
The Name Has a Story Behind It
The proposed name comes from Melanie Winter, an environmental advocate. During the October 28 discussion, board member Chip Meehan described the history of the dedication, the involvement of Council District 4 and Winter's work to establish the LA River as a protected navigable waterway. The Neighborhood Council's motion supported the restoration, beautification, safety and connectivity goals together with the naming, and also asked for public input.
Because CF 26-1471 is still in committee, the "Melanie Winter LA RiverWay" name is a proposal, not an official title. Anyone who wants to follow it can check the City Clerk's file page, which shows each referral and action as it's recorded.
The Ventura Boulevard Side of the River
The fourth effort is the largest, and the river is only part of it. The Registry reported on October 28 that City Council turned back neighborhood appeals and upheld approval of Riverwalk at Studio City. The project is an 814-unit, 76,000-square-foot mixed-use development on the Los Angeles River at 12555 Ventura Blvd. According to the project's own website, it will include open spaces and pathways linking Ventura Boulevard to the river. For our earlier look at where new housing is going up along the corridor, see Studio City's apartment boom.
On the walking side, those pathways and the $375,000 and $300,000 greenway conditions depend on the 2027 to 2033 construction window reported in the draft minutes. The other conditions include traffic improvements at Whitsett and Moorpark and at Whitsett and Ventura.
A smaller request could also add a route from the boulevard. At the same meeting, the Neighborhood Council considered a motion asking Council District 4 to look into buying, or partnering on, the parcels at 11571 and 11575 Ventura Boulevard for parkland and future river greenway access. That request asks the city to look into the idea. It doesn't commit to buying anything.
Where Each Effort Stood at the End of October
| Effort | Who is behind it | Stage as of October 28, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Volunteer cleanup and invasive removal, Whitsett to Laurel Canyon | Studio City Neighborhood Council | Access requested October 28 |
| Phased palm removal, north bank | MRCA | Contract back out to bid |
| South-bank restoration, lighting, paths, seating | City of Los Angeles, $250,000 federal funding | Funded February 2026; CF 26-1471 in committee |
| Segment 8 and Rec and Parks greenway work | Conditions of the Riverwalk approval | Approved October 21; construction projected 2027 to about 2033 |
The rows that are furthest along are also the smallest jobs. The Neighborhood Council's one-year-anniversary Community Cleanup is Sunday, November 15, from 8:30 to 11 a.m., meeting at Vitello's Restaurant, 4349 Tujunga Avenue. That cleanup isn't billed as a river event. Still, the people who show up on November 15 are the same group that asked for access to clear the Whitsett to Laurel Canyon bank.
For more on parks and public spaces in the area, see our Studio City neighborhood guide and our update on Beeman Park's new gym.
If you live near Valleyheart Drive or walk the river most mornings, you're watching these plans more closely than most people. If you'd like to talk through what a new river connection or a long construction window could mean for your street, the team at Tina Damadyan knows Studio City's permitting and development calendar well. Schedule a free consultation.
