Bradley Sends Signal to End Traffic Red Tape
Residents of the city of Los Angeles seeking to slow the flow of traffic through their neighborhoods had better prepare themselves for long waits.
At a special meeting of top officials in the city’s Department of Transportation on Thursday, Mayor Tom Bradley decried the red tape delaying installation of crosswalks and traffic signals.
It takes 198 days just to consider requests for new traffic signals downtown, Bradley said. Slow as that seems, it’s better than in West Los Angeles, where bureaucrats ponder such requests for 267 days.
In the San Fernando Valley, requests for new traffic lights take 225 days to be decided upon.
And in the East San Fernando Valley, the department takes 272 to study requests for a crosswalk.
“These kinds of delays are unacceptable,” Bradley said. “I don’t know what the reason is. I hope you don’t tell me you need more personnel.”
In an effort to reduce the delays, Bradley said he will hold similar meetings in the future and demand monthly or quarterly reports from transportation officials.
The people of Los Angeles, he said, shouldn’t be told “it will take eight or nine months” to review a crosswalk.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
