L.A. Arms for War Against Gridlock

For the last several days, reflecting “Do Not Block Intersection” signs have been springing up at some of the city’s busiest street corners in anticipation of a new state law making it unlawful to block intersections.

And, with cameras clicking, Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Woo and Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sepulveda) helped place one of those signs Friday at 6th Street and Broadway, one of 100 busy intersections that often experiences gridlock during the morning and evening rush hours.

“Starting Jan. 1, if you’re one of those folks who insists on (driving) into an intersection just because there’s a little space there and no where to go, you’re going to get a ticket,” said Katz, who authored the statewide anti-gridlock law.

The new law, signed in September by Gov. George Deukmejian, makes it illegal for a motorist at a signalized intersection to move into that intersection unless he or she can exit it before the light turns red. The new law replaces current provisions permitting drivers to move into an intersection with a green light, regardless of the flow of traffic.

The anti-gridlock law does not, however, affect those intersections controlled by stop signs.

“We want the message to be very, very clear in Los Angeles that inconsiderate motorists, inconsiderate bus drivers, truck drivers, cab drivers and car drivers are not going to be tolerated in this city,” Katz said.

Hours later, the Los Angeles City Council voted to help motorists understand even better the implications of the new anti-gridlock law by voting 8 to 4 to assign more police officers to particularly busy intersections for at least three months. The primary job of the beefed-up police force will be to ticket violators of the new law.

Those council members opposed to assigning the police officers to patrol the intersections said they wanted the 15 traffic officers to be used instead to combat more serious crime.

Vigorous Enforcement

Woo, the council’s principal supporter of anti-gridlock measures, said the new law will be vigorously enforced.

“Drivers can no longer pretend they’re urban cowboys with no other drivers on the road,” Woo said.

Transportation officials said that motorists should know that the anti-gridlock law applies to all signalized intersections, not just those with the black and white signs.

Katz’s legislation does not specify how much a motorist will be fined if a driver violates the no-intersection-blocking law. That will be left up to individual cities. The state law does permit fines to rise to $500 after the third offense in a single year.

A motorist who is ticketed the first time for blocking a Los Angeles intersection is subject to a $53 fine. Although the state law permits even higher fines for repeat offenses, officials said Friday that the local courts have not yet determined how high they will be.