Testimony Begins on Rush-Hour Truck Ban

A city panel began taking testimony on Wednesday that will determine whether Los Angeles becomes the first city in the nation to ban trucks from city streets during rush hours.

More than 150 business leaders attended the Transportation Committee meeting to voice opposition to Mayor Tom Bradley’s proposal to prohibit 70% of three-axle trucks from using city streets between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m., and from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Robert Crites, president of the California Trucking Assn., was among many who argued that the plan would endanger truck drivers and employers by forcing them to accept late-night deliveries, hurt businesses and prove ineffective in reducing congestion and air pollution. But in a letter to the council, Bradley insisted that “this ordinance will both improve the quality of life . . . and make the operation of our streets and highways much more efficient.”