Improved Road Signs Urged at Project Sites : Public works: Chick’s proposal seeks to better inform motorists who meet delays due to construction.

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Laura Chick called on city officials Friday to find ways to minimize the problems that construction projects pose to throngs of frustrated motorists in the San Fernando Valley and the city.

On any given day, work crews are busy repaving streets, retrofitting bridges and upgrading sewer lines around the city. While the projects need to be completed, they have often translated into headaches for residents and business owners who have sat through traffic delays, negotiated detours and put up with loud noise.

Chick introduced a motion calling for the city’s Department of Public Works to improve construction site signs to convey more useful and updated information, such as when a project will be completed, what it will accomplish and alternative routes for motorists.

“The public needs good, clear information,” said Ken Bernstein, a planning and transportation deputy for Chick. “What we’re asking is for the Department of Public Works to take a look at this and rethink their strategy.”

Chick’s motion also instructs the department to find new ways to notify the public about impending construction projects. One way may be for the department to use homeowners associations and other community groups to spread the word, Bernstein said.

The motion also calls for the department to review its policy on construction schedules to ensure that several projects are not scheduled in a single community at the same time.

Bernstein said at one point several of the Valley’s major thoroughfares, including Reseda Boulevard and Tampa and Wilbur avenues, were undergoing repairs, leaving motorists with limited alternative routes. Another project, the closure of the Mason Avenue bridge for retrofitting, also triggered numerous complaints from motorists to Chick’s office.

The motion will be referred to the Public Works committee for consideration and then on to the full council.

If approved, the changes could prevent a repeat of a fiasco currently taking place on Roscoe Boulevard, near Laurel Canyon Boulevard. For months, motorists have driven past a sign that says construction on Roscoe will end in August.

According to city officials, the $1.2-million project has been delayed because it was contracted out to a company crippled by work stoppages. But even after the deadline passed, the sign remained with its outdated information.

The lack of information outraged residents such as Ken Dean, a local architect and interior designer, who contends that the delays are not only inconvenient but dangerous. Dean said he was forced to call at least five city agencies before he finally found the status of the construction.