Gates Issues Call for Action to Ease L.A. Traffic ‘Flood’

Police Chief Daryl F. Gates, saying that traffic has become so congested that “frustrated” drivers are contributing to a dramatic increase in accidents, called Friday on transportation officials to get together and address the “catastrophic flood” on Los Angeles streets and freeways.

In a letter to Mayor Tom Bradley, which he distributed at a news conference, Gates suggested that the hours of all government workers should be staggered “in congested traffic areas,” such as downtown, and “an interagency committee for traffic” be formed immediately by local and state agencies.

The public, Gates said, “is just absolutely frustrated to death about the lack of movement on the highways and freeways.”

Gates also suggested that helicopters could be used to clear wrecked cars off freeways, trucks could change their delivery schedules and the city could close “selected portions of the central business district to all vehicles except high-occupancy vehicles.”

Harshest Criticism

Gates’ harshest criticism was directed at the state Department of Transportation, which maintains and operates Los Angeles’ vast freeway network. He charged that Caltrans is insensitive to peak commuter traffic patterns in the way it times its freeway work.

“They screw up traffic unbelievably,” Gates told reporters. “They never assess the traffic flow.”

Although traffic deaths have decreased 5% statewide, according to California Highway Patrol figures, Gates said that traffic deaths in the City of Los Angeles through August were up almost 28% over the same period a year ago. The LAPD forecasts 350 traffic deaths in the city this year, along with 2,600 major injuries.

Increased traffic is spawning “an undisciplined group of drivers and pedestrians,” Gates said, calling that “a police concern.”

Gates said no single incident is behind his proposals. Instead, he said, the city’s Olympic experience two years ago, which included increased car-pooling and other steps to decrease congestion, showed what can be done to reduce congestion on the streets and freeways. But, he said, the problem has worsened again.

“I’ve been waiting two years for someone to do something about this,” he said.

Officials at Caltrans and the city Transportation Department agreed that traffic is increasing but said they are taking steps to alleviate it. Charles W. Ford, Caltrans deputy district director for the three-county region that includes Los Angeles, said he was surprised at Gates’ criticism.

“Traffic is our primary concern” in determining the work hours of the agency’s freeway crews, he said, adding: “I really don’t know where he’s coming from.”

‘Vehicle Miles’

Caltrans spokeswoman Margie Tiritilli said that the agency’s “vehicle miles of travel” barometer shows that driving on Los Angeles’ freeway system is up more than 8% between 1982 and 1985, the latest figures available.

“Traffic is heavy because of the increase in population,” she said. “And it’s getting worse. That’s why we’re putting in commuter lanes to deal with the problem.”

Donald R. Howery, general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, said, “We’re not in a (traffic) crisis, but we’re approaching one. We’re near the capacity so that any untoward incident can cause stop-and-go traffic or gridlock.”

This mounting congestion in the nation’s second-largest city, Howery said, is why the city formed a 10-agency downtown traffic task force last September.

In his letter to the mayor, Gates said “normal business hours” for all government workers should be readjusted to 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the busiest areas.

“Government should take the lead to create support for this proposal,” he said in his three-page letter.

Later Hours

Howery said that although Gates’ proposal “is worth looking at,” government workers still have to serve the public and the later hours might prove inconvenient.

Street traffic in the city, Howery said, has been increasing by about 2% annually “and in some areas more than that.” He said that conversion of a number of downtown streets into one-way thoroughfares this month and in December should significantly accelerate traffic flow.