Bradley’s Plan for Traffic : Congestion: Mayor’s proposal includes banning valet parking on residential streets. He also recommends speed-reducing humps on neighborhood streets.

Mayor Tom Bradley on Wednesday unveiled an ambitious 20-point plan to improve traffic flow in Los Angeles, including a ban on valet parking on residential streets and the placement of “speed humps” to discourage speeding motorists.

It was the second time in three years that Bradley issued a set of proposals to fight traffic gridlock. In 1987, the City Council adopted most of the mayor’s measures, toughening parking regulations, fining motorists who blocked intersections and more than doubling the number of city traffic control officers to 600.

But the centerpiece of the 1987 plan--a ban of about 70% of all trucks from city streets during peak rush hours--has yet to go into effect because of stiff opposition from trucking firms and delays in federal transit guidelines.

At a City Hall news conference, the mayor touted the new series of proposals as a “transportation plan for the 1990s” to protect residential areas from increasing commuter traffic and provide alternatives to motorists driving alone.

“Since the 1984 Summer Olympics, when we had such a great experience with moving traffic, we’ve put into action a number of (laws) that have helped us with moving traffic in Los Angeles,” Bradley said.

Some of the proposals, such as doubling the budget to $250,000 for a nonprofit group, Safe Moves, to lecture at schools about traffic and bike safety, may be implemented by the end of the year.

But others, such as creating bus and car-pool lanes on surface streets, increasing fees on 25-cent parking meters, creating taxi zones for short cab rides and building more city parking lots, may take longer. Funding for many of the proposals has yet to be worked out.

As with the truck ban, some parts of Bradley’s initiative, especially the proposed restrictions on valet parking, are likely to run into stiff opposition from restaurant owners.

“They (restaurateurs) aren’t going to be happy,” said Councilman Richard Alatorre, who appeared at the news conference.

“There is no single cure to the cancerous disease of automobile congestion,” added Councilman Marvin Braude. “All these strategies won’t work in all areas. Let’s have the courage to fail but let’s move forward and improve things.”

Under the proposal, which requires City Council approval, business establishments would be required to identify off-street locations where valet parking would be accommodated. The city Department of Transportation would then review all valet parking services for compliance within a year.

Representatives of some restaurateurs reacted cautiously to the proposal late Wednesday.

“We’re willing to be cooperative because we want to be sensitive to residents’ concerns,” said Rudy Cole, executive director of a restaurateurs’ group that vigorously opposed a smoking ban in restaurants earlier this year.

But he added that enforcement would be difficult in dense areas where restaurants compete with apartment and condominium buildings for parking spaces.

Residents who say their driveways have been blocked by valet parking attendants were more enthusiastic about the proposed ban Wednesday.

Said Raul Alcala, who shares a small house with a friend from El Salvador just off Melrose Avenue in Hollywood: “Great. Now, I can come home and park in my own driveway, instead of leaving my car halfway to Mexico City.”

Another proposal likely to draw approval from residents is the suggested 2 5/8-inch-high “speed humps” in neighborhood streets where at least 60% of the residents request them.

The proposal is based, in part, on the enormous popularity of speed humps in Pasadena, where they proved to be so successful that the city could not keep up with residents’ requests for them.

Under the city plan, three speed humps would be placed within a block to slow down traffic.

Bill Bicker, the mayor’s transportation policy adviser, said a motorist would barely notice the 12-foot-long hump at 20 m.p.h. but would feel a moderate jolt at 50 m.p.h. The humps, he added, were considered much safer than speed “bumps,” which are several inches higher.

Also discussed Wednesday was the stalled proposal to ban 70% of all trucks from city streets during peak rush hours. Bradley predicted that it would go in effect, after council approval, by June 1.

A major barrier to the mayor’s rush-hour truck ban was overcome recently with the passage of federal legislation that puts the ban in jeopardy, according to Deputy Mayor Mark Fabiani.

The federal rule, published last June, requires that truckers have unimpeded access to cargo terminals so that they can drop off and pick up their shipments. It also requires that truckers be allowed access to areas within at least one mile of freeways and highways so they can stop for food, gasoline and repairs.

At the request of Bradley’s office, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Los Angeles) won passage of an amendment to the federal Clean Air Act that exempts Los Angeles from the rule, Fabiani said.

A spokesman for the California Trucking Assn. was quick to reiterate his group’s opposition to the proposed ban.

“This plan would penalize customers of businesses that need deliveries during peak hours,” said spokesman Gregory deGiere. “If consumers want to eat day-old bread--and meat and produce--because stores can’t get same-day deliveries, this is the way to go.”

Times staff writers Elaine Woo and Jane Fritsch also contributed to this story.

THE City’s 20 Steps To Improve Traffic 1. Ban valet parking on city streets. 2. Place speed humps on selected residential streets. 3. Double the number of committes for citizens to offer advice on traffic matters. 4. Increase parking meter fees by 25-cents an hour. 5. Build more bus and carpool lanes. 6. To encourage ridesharing or bus-riding, require employers to offer workers cash for parking subsidies. 7. Set aside public funds to pay for worker’s taxi rides home for emergencies. 8. Add 70 natural-gas-powered DASH and Commuter Express buses to the road within 12 months. 9. Improve and expand the city’s bicycle safety program. 10. Set up satelite centers where residents can communicate with city departments without driving downtown. 11. Create an advisory committee so public transit riders can speak up. 12. Create taxi zones to limit the cost of short cab rides. 13. Implement a truck management program. 14. Use electronic parking meter devices to charge shippers for parking in loading zones. 15. Ticket and remove advertising trailers blocking traffic flow. 16. Step up enforcement, ticketing and towing of parking scofflaws. 17 Reduce the number of times a developer or utility can tear up city streets during construction. 18. Schedule more evening meetings of city traffic committees and commissions so residents can offer input. 19. Air more public service announcements with transportation tips. 20. Create a committee to study traffic signs. Among the latest devices to ease traffic flow is the seep hump, a modification of the speed bump. Under a two-year pilot program, speed humps may be placed on neighborhood streets where 60% of residents request them and where they would not hamper police or fire vehicles. Engineers designed the smoother humps in response to motorist’s complaints about the sharp jolts of speed bumps. Source: Mayor Tom Bradley’s office