Councilmen Renew Call for Truck Ban

Los Angeles Councilmen Zev Yaroslavsky and Mike Woo on Thursday praised a voluntary program that has reduced rush-hour truck traffic on the Ventura Freeway, but repeated their call for a mandatory truck ban on the busy roadway.

The councilmen, speaking at a press conference, urged more truckers to join the voluntary program that is being backed by City Council, the trucking industry and the state Department of Transportation.

Yaroslavsky said a recent Caltrans study found a 33% drop in the number of large, five-axle trucks on the freeway during morning and evening rush hours. The study, based on two-day traffic counts in August and March, recorded a 15% drop in the number of commercial trucks of all sizes.

But the councilman said he would still push for a complete rush-hour truck ban. On Jan. 29, the council asked state authorities to consider a ban.

The California Trucking Assn. opposes mandatory restrictions and has encouraged its 2,500 member companies to avoid the Ventura Freeway, especially portions being widened between Wilbur Avenue and Valley Circle Boulevard.

The truck lobby has said it can only change delivery schedules with the cooperation of clients, and said government campaigns to reduce traffic should target shippers and receivers, not truckers.

Yaroslavsky agrees that truckers need cooperation from clients to alter delivery times but said that policing the trucking industry is an easier and quicker solution.