Braude Drops Plans to Block Street in Encino : Commuters: The councilman’s decision frustrates residents of neighborhoods clogged by rush-hour traffic.

City Councilman Marvin Braude on Wednesday withdrew his proposal to place a temporary barricade on an Encino street to block commuter traffic, prompting cheers from residents opposing the plan and frustration in residents whose neighborhoods are clogged by rush-hour traffic.

During a hearing of the City Council’s Transportation Committee, Braude said he was withdrawing his proposal to block Nance Street at Louise Avenue because of overwhelming opposition from residents who said it would ease the problems of a few at the expense of many.

The 90-day experiment was to be aimed at diverting commuters who use Nance to reach other hillside streets in their morning commute south over the Santa Monica Mountains.

Residents on Nance and nearby Mooncrest Drive say they have suffered for years from traffic problems so severe that they cannot back out of their driveways for as long as 20 minutes.

They had been unanimous in their support for installing the four-foot-high concrete barricade.

But Braude said a larger number of residents from the surrounding area opposed the plan.

“What has occurred is very clear,” Braude said. “There is no overwhelming support for traffic closures. Opposition is overwhelming. More and more people are objecting to road closures. . . . There will be no street closures.”

Braude’s reversal brought a loud cheer from most of about 100 Encino residents who attended the hearing. Gerald Silver, president of Homeowners of Encino, praised Braude’s decision. “Shifting traffic from one neighborhood to another is not a solution,” he said.

But the withdrawal of the proposal was harshly criticized by its supporters. Many accused Braude and the city of paying “lip service” to the need to solve their problem but then bowing to political winds.

“What do you want? He’s a politician,” said David Gold, who said his son, daughter and dog have all been injured in accidents caused by the bumper-to-bumper traffic that has been going by his house each morning for years. Proponents of the barricade said they believed their position was strongly supported by the city’s own data. A recent city Department of Transportation study concluded that 69% of the morning rush-hour trips through the neighborhood are made by motorists from outside the area.

Braude said his office will continue to explore other means of alleviating the traffic problem. Speed bumps and four-way stop signs at intersections such as Nance and Louise will probably be considered. Silver said his group would support those types of measures.

But residents of streets like Nance and Mooncrest said they have heard such promises before and accused the city of choosing commuter convenience over safety.

“We have heard that speech over and over for about 12 years, and nothing has ever happened,” said William Halama, a Mooncrest Drive resident.

Halama, an attorney, called conditions on his street “deplorable and unsafe” and warned that the city could be held responsible if someone is killed or injured because it has not taken steps to solve the problem.

“Someone is going to get maimed or killed,” Halama said. “It is inevitable. A pedestrian or child is going to be killed, and there is going to be a major liability.

“The point is, we don’t want lawsuits. We want solutions. This is an ultra, ultra hazardous situation.”

Braude acknowledged that solutions that please everyone may be elusive.