Major Routes to Close During Visit by Pope

Mayor Tom Bradley unfurled Thursday a sweeping plan to accommodate Pope John Paul II’s downtown procession next month by closing several major traffic arteries, canceling some official city business, rerouting buses and persuading hundreds of thousands of commuters either to go to work early or stay home.

Bradley forecast only “a minimum of obstruction” would be caused by the measures, developed by a task force of state and local officials and modeled after tactics successfully employed during the 1984 Summer Olympic Games. The Pope arrives on Tuesday, Sept. 15, for a two-day visit that opens with a 7.2-mile procession at parade speed through the heart of Los Angeles.

Features of Plan

The plan calls for:

--Closure of nine freeway ramps near the procession, beginning as early at 6 a.m. and lasting for at least six hours. Streets on the route itself and numerous cross streets also will be closed to traffic for several hours.

--Voluntary cooperation from downtown businesses and their workers. Businesses are being asked to grant non-essential employees the day off, juggle work schedules and cancel deliveries. Commuters are asked to be at work no later than 7:30 a.m.

--Cancellation for at least several hours of Southern California Rapid Transit District bus routes that cross the procession route, and the rescheduling of any public hearings to be conducted by city agencies.

--Patience on the part of motorists. They are being advised to expect traffic jams along the four freeways that crisscross downtown, and to find other routes around the city if possible.

The papal visit is part of a nine-city swing through the United States. In two days in greater Los Angeles, he will conduct masses in the Memorial Coliseum and Dodger Stadium before audiences expected to total 160,000. He also will participate in several other events. The rectory at St. Vibiana’s Cathedral will serve as his Los Angeles headquarters.

A minimum of 1 million people--as many as see a Tournament of Roses Parade--are expected to line the pontiff’s route, and some officials have set the figure as high as 6 million. The procession--a popular feature of all of John Paul’s excursions--will afford most people their only opportunity to witness the first visit to Los Angeles by a Pope.

“This is an exciting occasion for all of us,” Bradley said, “and we expect to show His Holiness the kind of hospitality Los Angeles is famous for.”

Bradley released the four-page plan at a press conference. He was joined by officials of the city Department of Transportation, Caltrans, the Los Angeles Police Department, the RTD, the California Highway Patrol and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

The initial reaction by the business community was restrained optimism. Said Ron Lamb of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce: “There is no doubt that when you have a visit of a major figure like the Pope there will be problems. But my sense is that everyone will be cooperative--or at least will try to be.”

Active Work Sector

The Chamber of Commerce estimated that more than 350,000 people work in the sector that officials said would be affected by the procession.

The traffic plan focuses on how to avoid the procession and leaves largely unexplored the problems of those who want to see the Pope. The planners at the press conference advised only that would-be spectators “arrive early” and park well off the route. No overnight camping on the sidewalks will be permitted.

Church officials expressed hope that the traffic plan will not scare away the curious who otherwise would seek a glimpse of the Pope. The 284 parishes within the sprawling Archdiocese of Los Angeles have made plans to bus church members to the procession.

While the Pope’s procession is expected to last only 45 minutes, it most likely will ripple the downtown traffic flow for the entire day.

The Pope is scheduled to arrive at Los Angeles International Airport early in the morning and speed by closed limousine to a firehouse near the intersection of Western Avenue and the Santa Monica Freeway. There he will climb aboard his bulletproof “popemobile” and, at 10:30 a.m., begin the procession.

To See Ethnic Diversity

The route, devised to give the Pope a taste of the city’s ethnic diversity, will take him north on Western to Olympic Boulevard, east under the Harbor Freeway to Figueroa Street. From there the route jogs over on 8th Street to Broadway and then proceeds along Broadway through the downtown area and Chinatown. The procession will then turn around, following Spring and Main streets through the Civic Center to arrive at St. Vibiana’s at approximately 11:15 a.m.

All ramps connecting Western Avenue and the Santa Monica Freeway and Broadway and the Hollywood-Santa Ana Freeway will be closed for six hours. The Olympic and 9th Street ramps to and from the Harbor Freeway will be affected, as will the Spring Street exit off the northbound Santa Ana--one of the most heavily traveled routes into downtown by morning commuters.

Streets on the motorcade route itself will be closed at 8 a.m., along with what were described as “minor streets crossing the route.” Major cross streets will be closed just before the procession, depending on traffic flow and crowd size. These streets will remain closed until well after the procession, allowing time for the crowds to clear and the sidewalks to be cleaned.

Parking regulations along the route will be changed temporarily, and any illegally parked cars will be towed away.

Urges Taking Day Off

Bradley implored private businesses in a wide swath that includes virtually the entire Los Angeles downtown skyline to grant employees the day off or stagger work hours.

People who work downtown or elsewhere along the procession route were advised to be at work no later than 7:30 a.m., and Bradley and others warned that traffic will be slower because of the influx of people coming to see the Pope.

“Freeway users traveling through downtown should select an alternate route,” the plan bluntly states.

It urges businesses to suspend “all deliveries into the downtown area or near the motorcade route.”

RTD buses that normally cross the procession will be turned back. “Our passengers need to know that buses will not be able to make through trips in the downtown area when traffic is diverted for the motorcade,” said RTD General Manager John A. Dyer.

Hearings to Be Postponed

Bradley said he has ordered city officials to postpone all public hearings scheduled for that day. He said department heads have been asked to “advise and encourage as many civic center employees as possible to take vacation on that day.”

A spokesman for the county said similar measures are under consideration, but that no final decisions have been made.

Public school already has been canceled for Sept. 15.

George Morrison, an LAPD commander, said closure of freeway ramps and surface streets is prompted as much by security precautions as by traffic management. U.S. Secret Service officials need to gain control of the procession route early to search for bombs or other dangers.

“The thing unique about this particular parade is that it involves a protected person,” Morrison said. “So we take some measures along the route that we wouldn’t take, say, for a Rose Parade. . . . If we did not have the security responsibility, obviously this would be a much different lineup.”

FREEWAY RAMP CLOSINGSTimes shown are approximate and may begin earlier or extend later depending on traffic and crowd conditions.

Santa Monica Freeway at Western Avenue (all ramps) beginning at 6:00 a.m. for approximately 6 hours.

Harbor Freeway at Olympic Boulevard (southbound off-ramp) beginning at 7:45 for approximately 5 hours.

Harbor Freeway at 9th Street (northbound and southbound off-ramps) beginning at 7:45 a.m. for aproximately 5 hours.

Hollywood / Santa Ana Freeway at Broadway (northbound and southbound off-ramps) beginning at 7:45 a.m. for approximately 6 hours.

Hollywood / Santa Ana Freeway at Broadway (northbound on-ramp) beginning at 7:45 a.m. for approximately 6 hours.

Santa Ana Freeway at Spring Street (northbound off-ramp) beginning as early as 7:45 a.m. for approximately 6 hours, depending on traffic and crowd conditions.

Source: City Police, Transportation Departments, Caltrans, the California Highway Patrol, the Southern California Rapid Transit District(SCRTD) and the Papal Visit Office.