Council OKs Padilla’s Barricade Extension

In the first legislative victory for Councilman-elect Alex Padilla, the Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday unanimously adopted an ordinance calling for the extension of a barricade program meant to deter cruising on Laurel Canyon Boulevard.

The Los Angeles Police Department currently works with the Department of Transportation to set up removable plastic barriers and beef up police presence at the well-known cruising strip.

The ordinance will expand the time the barricades are in place by 11 hours, including eight on Fridays beginning at 8 p.m. and continuing until 4 a.m. Saturday. On Saturday evenings, the hours increase by three, keeping the same schedule as on Fridays. The Sunday hours, from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. Monday, will remain the same.

The ordinance was written by Padilla in response to a number of recent incidents of violence at the popular cruising spot, where one person was killed and eight others injured in separate shootings over the weekend of June 19 and 20.

Padilla, however, was not the official sponsor of the bill. Council President John Ferraro introduced it because Padilla won’t officially be sworn in until a date next month yet to be set.

The barricade program will remain in effect until at least mid-October, according to Mark Dierking, a Padilla spokesman. At that time, the council will decide whether to continue the program, he said.