Proposed Ban on Rush-Hour Truck Traffic Gains in Council

A mayoral proposal to eliminate most heavy trucks from Los Angeles surface streets during peak traffic hours moved forward Tuesday when a City Council subcommittee voted to support the concept and leaders of the city’s construction industry endorsed its basic elements.

However, Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky, whose Finance and Revenue Committee Tuesday unanimously approved a $250,000 expenditure to help develop final plans for the ban, warned that several obstacles must still be overcome.

“It’s a long way from going anywhere,” said Yaroslavsky at a packed hearing. “There are a lot of flaws to any program which deals with city streets and doesn’t deal with freeways. . . . (And) I don’t think you can deal with one city and not deal with surrounding cities.”

The program, first outlined by Mayor Tom Bradley last September, would establish a certification process by which 70% of three-axle trucks would be forbidden to operate on city streets from 6 to 9 a.m. and 4 to 7 p.m. Trucks that do not bear an exemption certificate would be cited and fined if found to be operating during those hours.

Bradley, who had initially vowed to have the plan in operation by September, claims it would reduce air pollution and help relieve citywide traffic congestion. Although the city has no jurisdiction to extend the ban on freeways, administration officials have predicted that its indirect effects would curb heavy-rig traffic on freeways by 50% during rush hours.

Over the last few months, staff members of the mayor have met privately with industry organizations in an effort to gain support. Although the California Trucking Assn., which represents more than 2,500 firms, remains opposed, Bradley announced Tuesday that he has reached a compromise agreement with the Associated General Contractors of California and with the Building Trades Council, which represents 120,000 Southland construction workers.

At a morning press conference, the mayor announced that construction industry leaders have agreed to have their workers on the job before peak traffic hours--at 6 a.m.--in exchange for an exemption for trucks that deliver hot asphalt, concrete and structural steel.

‘Will Ensure Cleaner Air’

“Compromises such as these will ensure cleaner air and provide free-flowing streets and highways for all in the City of Los Angeles and Southern California area,” Bradley said.

Later in the day, the council committee approved the construction exemption as part of a package that it will send to the full City Council for a vote next month.

The proposal calls for the hiring of five employees in the Department of Transportation who will further refine the program. A contractor will also be hired to help determine how many trucks would be affected by the program.

At this point, no one is sure just how many three-axle trucks operate in the Los Angeles area. But officials Tuesday estimated that about 30,000 trucks are used daily in Los Angeles by the construction industry, accounting for anywhere from 10% to 30% of total truck traffic.

Several major stumbling blocks still remain for the mayor’s plan, including the possibility that highway regulations now under consideration in Washington may eventually forbid the city from regulating local truck traffic. Assistant City Atty. John F. Haggerty told the council committee that a proposal currently under review by the Federal Highway Administration would preempt cities from interfering with trucks on streets located within five miles of federally funded highways.

Bill Bicker, the mayor’s transportation policy adviser, said following the meeting that he believes an ongoing lobbying effort by the nation’s major cities will force federal officials to reconsider.

The mayoral proposal also faces daunting logistical issues, such as how to adjust noise control standards for city neighborhoods if trucks are to operate earlier in the morning and later in the evening.