Pontiff’s Parade: Finding a Fix for Commuters

The announcement of traffic restrictions imposed on downtown Los Angeles commuters to accommodate the Sept. 15 motorcade of Pope John Paul II forced businesses Friday to begin looking for innovative ways to get employees to their jobs that morning.

Others began to talk about curtailing activities or closing for the day.

Personnel managers pored over motorcade and street-closure maps and also dusted off Olympic-era commuting plans. Federal, state and county agencies indicated that they may follow the lead of Mayor Tom Bradley and scale back operations Sept. 15.

Bradley, joined by representatives of state and local transportation agencies, on Thursday announced that nine freeway ramps and several streets will be closed for several hours before, during and after the papal procession, scheduled from 10:30 to 11:15 a.m. Sept. 15. The motorcade also will restrict passage of buses in the Civic Center area for several hours.

Vacation Time Urged

Official city business will be reduced and city employees will be urged to take vacation time. Bradley has urged other government agencies and private companies to cancel deliveries, curtail business and encourage workers to take the day off.

Those people who must work downtown that day should arrive no later than 7:30 a.m., Bradley and traffic planners suggested. Without maximum cooperation, the mayor warned, the downtown area’s usual commuter clogging could deteriorate into gridlock.

While many downtown business executives interviewed Friday agreed that it might be possible to duplicate the cooperation that ensured free traffic flow during the 1984 Summer Olympic Games, the plan could be undermined if workers take the day off--and then drive downtown to catch a once-in-a-lifetime glimpse of the pontiff.

“It’s kind of an interesting thing here,” said Don Shellgren, executive vice president of Transamerica Life Cos., which employs 3,500 people at 12th and Olive streets. “On the one hand, our employees would like to help the (traffic) problem (by staying home), but at the same time a lot of people would like to see the Pope.”

TV Viewing Suggested

City traffic planner Thomas Conner said he would hope that downtown workers taking the day off to see the Pope would either stay home and watch on television or pick an observation spot away from downtown.

Estimates of the numbers of spectators who will line the 7.2-mile parade route, a circuitous path from Western Avenue and the Santa Monica Freeway to St. Vibiana’s Cathedral at 2nd and Main streets, range from 1 million to 6 million.

Bradley’s warnings apparently provided many businesses and public agencies the impetus needed to begin planning for the event. For others, preparations had been under way for some time.

Superior and U.S. District court administrators said they are mapping plans to reschedule jury trials or scale back operations on Sept. 15, although the courts will not shut down altogether.

Supervisors May Not Meet

David Tirapelle, chief deputy director of the state Department of Personnel Administration, said that thousands of state workers downtown probably will be encouraged to take vacation time that day.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors will consider a motion next week to cancel the Sept. 15 board meeting. It was unclear Friday whether other county operations might also be curtailed.

But at least one government agency promised business as usual.

Lowell Langers, spokesman for the downtown office of the Internal Revenue Service, said most of the agency’s 1,500 employees begin their usual work day at 6 a.m. and will be expected at their desks on Sept. 15.

“The tax man never sleeps, what can I say?” Langers added.

Sam Palmer, a manager of AT & T, said Friday that the corporation has not determined alternatives for its 1,000 downtown employees. He said at a papal traffic briefing held for businesses along the motorcade route that most downtown AT & T employees hold critical jobs, but added that the flexible scheduling used during the 1984 Olympics is under consideration.

Some Executives Unsure

Officials of most other businesses echoed Palmer, saying they were unsure how they would respond to the mayor’s call. But they agreed that with the announcement of specific street closures, they can better assess their needs.

Pacific Bell, however, is ready to launch an Olympic-style operation the morning of the papal motorcade, said spokeswoman Lissa Mozur Zanville. Instead of reporting to offices, its hundreds of downtown employees may opt to work at home or at outlying offices, she said.