Bradley Seeks Quick OK of Plans to Reduce Traffic

Mayor Tom Bradley asked for quick approval Thursday of two measures intended to cut traffic--one offering cash instead of parking subsidies to workers who share rides, and the other setting aside public funds to pay for workers’ taxi rides home in emergencies.

Bradley said both proposals will be sent to the Los Angeles City Council soon. They are among the first measures to be sent to the council from a 20-point plan to reduce traffic congestion announced by Bradley last November.

Council President John Ferraro endorsed the measures and suggested the city may have to begin giving hiring preference to applicants who intend to car-pool or take public transportation. The city has imposed an indefinite hiring freeze, Ferraro said, and no formal proposal has been made on the hiring practice.

It is not clear whether either proposal will be supported by the council, but the parking subsidy measure is expected to be the more controversial.

The measure would require companies that subsidize employee parking to offer workers the cash value of the subsidy. In return, the workers would have to participate in a ride-sharing program or take public transportation to work.

The measure would have the greatest impact on areas such as downtown and Century City, where businesses pay garages and parking lots as much as several hundred dollars a month per employee.

In some circumstances, the measure would apply to businesses that own their own parking garages or lots. Details of the proposal are still being drafted and were not available.

Martha Cox-Nitikman, a spokeswoman for the Building Owners and Managers Assn., said officials of the group had not seen the proposal and had no immediate response. It was not possible to determine what the cost to businesses might be.

Bill Chandler, a spokesman for Bradley, said that in most cases the parking subsidy measure would impose no additional cost on businesses.

However, some potential problems remain to be worked out, he said.

For instance, workers who already car-pool or take public transportation would not be eligible for the cash value of their companies’ parking subsidies, while their colleagues who have continued to drive to work alone could reap the benefits of the measure.

Bradley said the emergency ride home measure is intended to eliminate one of the major impediments to car-pooling--concern about how to get home in an emergency.

Employers who sign up for the program, which would be voluntary, could offer free rides home to workers who are in car or van pools, or take public transportation. Taxi companies have agreed to reduce by 15% their rates for those who sign up, Bradley said. The city and employers in the program would split the remaining costs equally, he said.

“There will be no excuse for not van-pooling and car-pooling,” Bradley said.