Woo Drives for Renewal of L.A.’s Gridlock Crackdown

Declaring that Los Angeles has discovered a cheap way of controlling traffic congestion, City Councilman Michael Woo called Thursday for a renewed crackdown on motorists who cause gridlock by blocking intersections after traffic signals turn red.

Woo said a special three-month anti-gridlock campaign by the Los Angeles Police Department had helped to clear some of the city’s worst intersections after 3,438 drivers were ticketed and paid $240,000 in fines.

The fines more than compensated for the $120,000 cost of a 15-member squad, which was disbanded March 31, Woo said. “We need to continue it. Finally, there’s a low-cost way of controlling congestion,” he said.

That said, Woo climbed into his city sedan to drive to a luncheon meeting--and was promptly caught in a jam at the downtown area’s busiest intersection, Flower and 7th streets.

Ahead of him, city Traffic Control Officer Ron Silagyi stood in the middle of the intersection, trying to funnel cars past Metro Rail construction equipment that had closed two lanes on 7th Street.

Cars that could not clear the intersection before the green light changed to red were stuck in the path of Flower Street motorists. Stranded drivers sat there until pedestrians crossing in front of them moved out of the way.

“We don’t cite for gridlock,” Silagyi said as the driver of a Porsche sat nervously in the intersection, clearly worried that he was about to get a $50 ticket for obstructing traffic. “That’s considered a moving violation. Only police can do that.”

Police officials said congestion has increased since the special enforcement at 84 of the city’s worst intersections ended. “We’ve started to see a little gridlock creeping back in,” said Cmdr. Jerry Bova, who heads the city’s police traffic detail.

A state law passed last year prohibits motorists from entering intersections unless there is space on the other side to exit. Woo authored a city ordinance that provided money for the January-through-March police enforcement effort.

Woo is also a member of a council transportation and traffic committee that on Wednesday recommended expansion of the enforcement project. He said he has also noticed that motorists are slipping back into their old habits of blocking intersections.

So has the man on the street. “It’s getting bad again,” said George Lambert, a management consultant who works in a high-rise near the intersection of 7th and Flower streets.

“It helped when they were enforcing the law. But people are blocking the intersection again. The other day I had to wait four light changes to get through this intersection.”

For the record, Woo made it through Thursday in two. He did not get stuck in the middle of the intersection.