Girding Against Gridlock

Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley has--somewhat belatedly, but at least firmly and with enthusiasm--joined the ranks of city leaders working to break up the traffic congestion that threatens to strangle many parts of the city.

Last week the mayor announced a series of proposals that he will present to the City Council, the California Legislature and even to Congressin an effort to bring back the remarkably free-flowing traffic pattern that Los Angeles experienced during the 1984 Summer Olympic Games. It is none too soon, and we support his effort whole-heartedly.

A key element of the Olympic Games traffic plan was strict controls over the times during which trucks could use city streets and make deliveries. Bradley would return to those rules and impose extra fees on truckers who insist on driving during morning and evening rush hours. The fees would go into a fund to pay for a new “accident-removal strike team” that would move quickly to get damaged vehicles off roadways after accidents. The mayor would also have the state charge truck operators for the cleanup costs whenever the operators cause accidents that snarl traffic. These proposals are certain to be opposed by the trucking industry, but it is encouraging that Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sepulveda), chairman of the Assembly Transportation Committee, has already said that he is sympathetic to many elements of Bradley’s plan and will see that it gets a fair hearing in Sacramento.

The mayor promised to make city government itself a model of traffic control by encouraging ride-sharing and staggered work hours for city workers, and by ordering city departments to do no maintenance work that might block streets during rush hours. A specific step that should be included in this regard is restricting the hours during which motion-picture crews can work on city streets.

Bradley is also right to urge an increase in the fines paid for the most common serious traffic violations--running red lights, turning left illegally, and parking in tow-away zones. The fine for these offenses would increase from $64 to $100. A similarly hefty fine should be imposed on drivers who cause gridlock situations by blocking intersections just before traffic lights change. Three-figure fines would get the attention of even the most obstinate traffic violators, but they might also jolt average drivers into being much more cautious and disciplined. A scary side effect of our worsening local traffic--noted by Police Chief Daryl F. Gates, among others--is that it has led otherwise good drivers to become lax, undisciplined and downright rude. Those are new habits for Los Angeles drivers, and the sooner they are broken, the smaller the chance they will become permanent.

The only thing that we find lacking in Bradley’s proposal is money for more traffic-control officers. Especially in busy shopping or business districts, trained officers can provide an important element of human authority, and judgment, to keep traffic flowing even when drivers are tempted to ignore traffic lights and other mechanical controls.

None of Bradley’s proposals are entirely original, or even very dramatic, but if they are put into effect they will help make the traffic situation more tolerable than it is now, both for city residents and for out-of-town commuters. The mayor is to be commended for finally hopping aboard the traffic-control bandwagon. He will need all his clout and prestige to help steer it through the political gridlocks that it is sure to encounter.