L.A. Is Tired of Standing : A compromise could add 6,000 benches along bus routes

Even here, in a city built on the promise of automotive freedom, more than a million people depend on the public bus system every day. Often, they wait in conditions that can be described charitably as unpleasant. Many stops are little more than a route sign, with no place to sit. And those benches that do exist are frequently broken and covered with graffiti--or worse.

A proposal championed by Los Angeles City Councilman Hal Bernson holds the promise of fixing the problem, but to work it would require careful implementation and oversight. A private company, Norman Bench Advertising, has offered to give the city 6,000 new, graffiti-resistant bus benches in exchange for the right to sell advertising on them. The company would pay the city $245,000 a year in fees and maintain the benches.

A good idea, but here’s the catch: Advertising on bus benches is prohibited or limited in more than a dozen communities citywide. For the proposal to succeed, community planning or zoning rules in places such as Westwood and along Ventura Boulevard would have to be revised, a step that residents groups have so far refused to take. Norman Bench is understandably reluctant to strike a deal that excludes those areas.

Other residents groups, meanwhile, say they want to install more aesthetically pleasing benches and are willing to pay for them. But those plans have gotten nowhere.

If all sides give a little, the city should be able to find a deal that works for everyone--especially for the bus riders. Without the Norman Bench deal, it’s virtually certain that conditions for riders will only worsen.

City Council committee action is scheduled today. Rather than bang their fists at the hearing, leaders of community associations should come in the spirit of cooperation. They should agree to a temporary lifting of sign restrictions and promise to get their own benches built. Meanwhile, the company should guarantee that it will monitor the content of the ads it accepts and properly maintain the benches. Everyone could benefit.