Cruising Restrictions Adopted

The Esplanade will be two lanes in Redondo Beach and no-parking hours will be expanded on the street’s west side under a new set of restrictions adopted by the City Council on Tuesday in an attempt to curb teen-age cruising.

The measures--drafted in response to a barrage of complaints about noise and congestion on weekends and evenings along the popular seaside thoroughfare--had been informally approved earlier this month in one of two special traffic meetings. They take effect immediately.

Under the new regulations, parking will be prohibited an hour earlier on the west side of the street, extending from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Additionally, road crews will restripe the four-lane street to two lanes, adding a bicycle lane in each direction, from Topaz Street to Vista del Mar.

Police have already launched a continuing crackdown on boom-box stereos in the area, warning that drivers whose sound systems are audible beyond 50 feet will be cited for moving violations and will risk the confiscation of their stereos as evidence.

In a related matter, however, the council postponed action on a proposal to ban cruising in the area outright. Police have argued that such an ordinance would be expensive to enforce because of the manpower it would require.