Pico Rivera Hiring ‘Maintenance’ Aides to Curb Cruising by Youths
- Share via
PICO RIVERA — City officials are interviewing candidates to become bargain-rate soldiers in the war on the city’s legendary cruising problem.
The city plans to hire 15 to 20 “maintenance aides” to set up or move traffic-control barricades at the direction of officers from the Sheriff’s Department and California Highway Patrol. The aides will work from about 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Wednesdays and weekends and save the city up to $200,000 in salary costs.
Local law-enforcement agencies typically set up barriers to prevent cruisers from entering residential neighborhoods and to keep the traffic flowing. On a busy cruising night, up to 100,000 youths will descend on Whittier and Rosemead boulevards to show off their cars and socialize, slowing traffic to a crawl.
Pico Rivera spent about $400,000 last year to control cruising. The city had been paying public-works employees overtime to set up barriers. That cost the city about $18 an hour per worker.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
