Weeding Out Some Trucks

When many of us think back on the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, we recall that while the athletic performances often were amazing, the consistently astonishing thing was the way traffic moved during those two weeks.

For those struggling to come to grips with Southern California’s vexing transit problems, it was an object lesson in the potential of so-called “soft” solutions, that is to say those that involve changes in behavior rather than massive construction projects or huge capital expenditures. Soft solutions have more than economy to recommend them: They are inherently flexible and, if they don’t work, easy to walk away from.

Recently, Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley has taken a page directly from the Olympic lesson, and proposed a plan his office believes will cut the number of heavy-duty trucks on the city’s streets by 70% during peak traffic hours. This would be accomplished primarily by shifting most shipping and receiving operations into night and early morning hours.

The mayor’s plan is before the City Council, and while its details deserve appropriate scrutiny, the proposal is sound in principle and ought to be approved.

It already has been endorsed by the Southern California Air Quality Management District, whose studies show that it also will help reduce pollution.

Spokesmen for the trucking industry and some in the business community have expressed fears that the costs of implementing the plan will be burdensome. However, the mayor’s proposal would create an arbitration process that would allow for hardship exemptions.

Basically, all trucks with three or more axles or a gross weight exceeding 26,000 pounds--about 60% of those now operating in the city--would have to obtain one of three colored medallions. One color would allow the vehicle to operate on surface streets between 6 and 9 a.m., another between 4 and 7 p.m. and a third during both periods.

To obtain a medallion, trucks would have to pass state safety inspections. This is particularly important since many believe truck safety has declined since the industry was deregulated in 1980.

Businesses that ship or receive goods more than five times a week during rush hour would be required to stay open to handle night shipments.

Finally, even though the city cannot legally regulate traffic on the freeways, a joint-agency accident cleanup squad would be created to more quickly clear truck mishaps there. The California Department of Transportation estimates that incidents involving trucks account for half the freeway system’s non-recurring traffic tie-ups.

If it works, Mayor Bradley’s plan will make travel easier, air cleaner and streets and freeways safer. It is a far-sighted, fair-minded proposal and deserves the chance to prove itself.