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 Consider this when planning your Cinco de Mayo weekend:
The southbound San Diego (405) Freeway will be closed on the Westside late tonight as crews work on widening it to build a carpool lane, Caltrans warned today. All lanes of the southbound freeway at Olympic Boulevard will be closed at 1 o’clock tomorrow morning. Detours will be posted, and the southbound 405 will reopen at 7 a.m. tomorrow. The closure is connected to a $50 million project to extend the carpool lane on the southbound freeway from Sunset Boulevard to the Santa Monica (10) Freeway. That project is expected to be completed this summer. Both sides of the 405 are also being widened from the Santa Monica Freeway south to the Marina (90) Freeway in Culver City. (CNS)
 Score one for L.A. traffic court. As the world knows, Paris Hilton is going to jail. But The Times' Megan Garvey and Andrew Blankstein provides interesting details about what got her there -- repeatedly driving without a license (a common offense) and then blaming her publicist for it (not so common defense):
A letter reiterating the suspension — which was presented as evidence in court Friday — had been sent to her Beverly Hills business office. According to court testimony, however, Hilton soon disregarded the conditions. In December she was stopped in Hollywood by an LAPD officer for making an illegal turn and warned that her license was not valid. Then in January, a CHP officer stopped Hilton in Culver City for having no license plates on the front or back of her car. After checking her status, the officer also cited her for driving on a suspended license, and Hilton called a friend to pick her up. She was given a written order then, again stating that her driving privileges had been suspended. A month later, a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy pulled her over in West Hollywood, where the officer found the CHP warning in her car. She was cited a second time for driving on a suspended license. Trying to explain why she had made the same mistake repeatedly, Hilton told the judge that her publicist, Elliot Mintz, had explained that her sentence required her not to drive for the first 30 days and that she had used friends, personal assistants and hired drivers to get around during that period.
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 BART saw a boost in traffic after the bridge collapse earlier this week. But KCBS says that as the week wore on, people started migrating back to their cars:
The final figures aren't actually in for the entire week, but Metropolitan Transportation Commission spokesman John Goodwin told KCBS that Monday traffic across the Bay Bridge was down by 18%. "That dropped to 14% below normal on Tuesday and then 11% below normal on Wednesday," he said. "So there's a clear trend line there." Corresponding BART numbers show those drivers did hop on board for a while, but now they appear to be inching back into their cars. "As they realized that the situation was perhaps not quite as bad as we had feared it might be," explained Goodwin.
Heads up: The south lanes of the San Diego (I-5) Freeway, north of Oso Parkway, in Mission Viejo have been closed so a helicopter can land to take an injured person to the hospital following a crash involving a big rig and two other vehicles. One person was killed and three are critically injured. (CNS)
 The corner of Pico Boulevard and Bundy Drive recorded 64 accidents over the last two years -- making it one of the most dangerous in the Westside. Now the Lookout reports that red-light cameras are being installed:
If you’re taking Pico Boulevard in and out of Santa Monica, you may want to think twice before gunning through Bundy Drive. A new red light camera could be snapping your picture. City Council member Bill Rosendahl and officials from the Los Angeles Police and Transportation departments announced the activation of a new red light enforcement camera system at the intersection of Pico and Bundy during a press conference Wednesday. "Drivers cannot continue to endanger the public by speeding through red lights," Rosendahl said. "The activation of the new photo red light camera will ensure the safety of motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians and will make our streets safer."
 That threatened OCTA strike continues to loom, though negotiations are taking place today:
Members of the bus drivers union and negotiators for the Orange County Transportation Authority will return to the bargaining table today, a union official said. The move comes during a week in which a board appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is preparing a written fact-finding report on the offer to the drivers. The process is called a seven-day cooling-off period, because a strike is prohibited during the seven days the report is being prepared, officials said. Schwarzenegger was asked to intercede last week after the bus drivers voted 917-42 to authorize a strike, saying they were prepared to walk off the job if the OCTA board did not make a "realistic" offer. (CNS)
 This has got to be a CHP traffic stop like no other -- and it didn't even take place in L.A. (in northern San Diego County, actually). The NC Times reports:
Paparazzi chasing Britney Spears' tour bus created a hazard on a North County freeway briefly Tuesday, prompting a California Highway Patrol officer to pull the bus over, a sergeant said. Some 30 to 35 paparazzi also stopped when the bus pulled over shortly before 2:40 p.m. on southbound Interstate 5, CHP Sgt. Kirk Van Orsdel said. The photographers crowded around to take pictures, and were so distracting that Officer Eric Flynn had to step inside the bus to talk to the driver. The officer was told the photographers were driving all around the bus on the freeway trying to get pictures of Spears through tinted windows. (EPA photo)
 The Daily News' editorial board sees a lesson in the Bay Area freeway collapse for Los Angeles. The lesson isn't about freeway engineering. It's that our city's reliance on freeways. And the DN thinks the MTA doesn't seem to care:
The MTA, for example, is sinking all of its resources into building an exorbitant Westside subway at the expense of more pressing projects that would deliver a far greater return on the investment. Meanwhile, the MTA pursues a fare increase so steep that it's expected to drive some public transportation users into cars, thus exacerbating L.A.'s crisis. After Sunday's explosion and freeway-ramp collapse, Bay Area and state authorities moved quickly to find solutions. Monday was declared a free public-transportation day, and the governor declared a state of emergency. Los Angeles' transportation officials ought to take note. We, too, have a crisis on our hands that demands swift, immediate attention.
What do you think? Hit COMMENT and speak out!
 There's a new turning rule at one Pacific Coast Highway intersection in Malibu. Problem is, according to the Malibu Times, that city officials say this is the first they are hearing about it:
California Department of Transportation spokesperson Judy Gish said signs warning about the rule have been up for more than a year, and were installed with the full knowledge and support of Malibu city officials. Councilmember Ken Kearsley, mayor at the time when the signs were supposedly installed, said they have been up for only a month or so. "To my knowledge nobody in the city was notified in advance," Kearsley said.
Heads up on this one: All northbound lanes of the Hollywood (170) Freeway are shut down in North Hollywood, south of Roscoe Boulevard, following a six-vehicle injury crash in which two of the cars overturned. (CNS)
 In Orange County's toll road network, the 73 Toll Road has long been considered the biggest disappointment. And the lack of drivers -- and toll revenues -- has caused financial problems for the operators. Now, the OCR reports a new effort to merge the 73 (which runs from Newport Beach to San Juan Capistrano) with the more successful 241/261/133 (which gets the huge Inland Empire-to-OC traffic) toll road system:
A multi-billion dollar plan that would merge two south county toll roads – which could potentially shorten the time motorists pay tolls – is being pursued by the operators of the 73 and 241 turnpikes. But unlike a similar plan that was defeated three years ago amid political controversy, board members who run the San Joaquin Hills (73) and the Foothill/Eastern (241/261/133) toll roads aren't in any hurry to seal the deal. ... In 2004, a plan to merge the two roads was seen as the only way to keep the financially-ailing 73 out of default. But a subsequent loan and financial agreement in November 2005 helped stabilize its finances. Since consolidation was last considered the 73 is healthier.
 L.A. has seen its share of celebrity road mishaps lately (Halle Barry? Nichol Richie? Lane Garrison?). This might send a message:
Paris Hilton should be jailed for 45 days for violating terms of her probation for an alcohol-related reckless driving conviction, city prosecutors say. In documents filed in Superior Court, prosecutors also want Hilton to be required to stay away from alcohol for 90 days and wear a monitoring device that will chart whether she complies. The recommendation will be reviewed by a judge when Hilton appears for a probation violation hearing on Friday. Hilton pleaded no contest in January to reckless driving stemming from a Sept. 7 arrest in Hollywood. She was sentenced to 36 months probation, alcohol education and $1,500 in fines. (AP)
 A long-discussed widening of the 60 Freeway -- 11 miles through the San Gabriel Valley -- is finally getting underway. But you'll have to wait until 2011:
One carpool lane will be added in each direction of the 60 between the San Gabriel River (605) and Orange (57) freeways. That stretch of the freeway is used by an estimated 211,000 drivers every day, according to the California Department of Transportation. "These highway improvement projects are providing congestion relief for California’s motorists," said Caltrans District Director Doug Failing. "We all want a California where people spend less time sitting on the freeways, less time commuting and more time with their families." Construction is expected to be completed by the summer of 2011. (CNS)
 Noticed more big rigs parked on the shoulder lately at night? The WSJ says there is a reason: Booming commerce has created a shortage of trucking parking space:
On any given night, the shoulders of interstates leading into big cities like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Baltimore are lined with long glistening strands of parked 18-wheelers. These are the trucks that couldn't get a space in nearby rest stops or truck stops because those roadsides oases are already packed with resting big rigs. ... Thanks to a strong economy, more trucks than ever are moving on the nation's roads, transporting goods. But the number of places where truckers can stop and get some shut-eye during long hauls isn't expanding as fast.
 Marina del Rey is in the midst of a major building boom (more high-rise condos, commercial development) that is expected to further jam already bad traffic. Now, there is a "workforce housing" project designed to actually help deal with crush of new residents and workers. Reports The Times' Roger Vincent:
The site on Glencoe Avenue southeast of the oft-congested intersection of Lincoln and Washington boulevards is close to two shopping centers and a Costco warehouse store. A former office building has been razed and work started this week on a six-story building of condominiums units that will be priced from about $500,000 — below the price of most Westside residences. Units at nearby Playa Vista, for example, average $750,000 to $800,000. The addition of 119 lofts amounts to a collision of competing needs in a neighborhood where few workers at nearby businesses can afford to live. ... City Councilman Bill Rosendahl said he supported converting land there to residential use because traffic nearby "is unbearable. Not enough housing or transportation infrastructure was built as the Westside became a more-aggressive job capital."
 The bridge fire and collapse in the Bay Area proved to be a major test for all those new GPS systems. But many firms stepped in and quicky reworked their computers to help commuters get around the damaged roadways:
If you went to Google, Yahoo, AOL or another mapping site to plot a route from San Francisco to Oakland in the hours after an oil tanker exploded, they would have sent you driving over a collapsed overpass engulfed in flames. But within 48 hours of Sunday’s accident, engineers at the major mapping sites had reprogrammed with alternate routes that added only a couple minutes to estimated drive times. That’s a big improvement from a couple years ago, when routing algorithms were only updated sporadically. Digital cartographers say the response to the Oakland disaster was a promising sign of what’s to come - up-to-the-minute detours and routing technology that takes into account not only major disasters but fender benders and traffic jams. (AP)
 Councilman Tom LaBonge isn't rejected the plan to turn Olympic and Pico boulevards one-way. But he has grave concerns, saying "creating the surface street equivalent of freeways is not the answer." More:
I am still open to learning more from a planned study to be conducted by our Dept. of Transportation, but my gut tells me the proposal is seriously flawed.
Meanwhile, LAist has an idea regarding the Wilshire bus lane idea: "Do you want to pussyfoot the solutions that may or may not work until our retirement or find a solution that may or may not work for six-months from now? Call it a 3-month pilot study -- we don't care. Until that Purple Line Subway is moving, be a little reckless."
What do you think? Hit COMMENT and speak out!
 San Bernardino County officials are expected today to vote to push for several commute rail projects -- including the long-discussed Gold Line-to-Ontario-Airport extension:
The most significant of the projects would offer additional transit choices with funding to extend the Metro Gold Line beyond the Los Angeles County line to Montclair and a proposed passenger-rail service line between San Bernardino and Redlands. At last month's meeting, the SANBAG board endorsed a plan for the 9.1-mile Redlands extension, which could start construction in 2010 and be in operation by 2013, said Mike Bair, director of transit and rail programs for SANBAG. The $176 million project, which would add six stations between downtown San Bernardino and the University of Redlands, takes up the biggest chunk of capital funds, although the agency is applying for a $75 million federal grant.
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 The collapsed freeway ramp near the Bay Bridge was annoying enough. But some West Oakland residents are even more annoyed by the roar of traffic TV chopper constantly overhead -- and they are finding it's hard to fight:
West Oakland residents are steeling themselves for the inevitable onslaught of freeway traffic coursing through city streets, but it's the constant roar of television station helicopters overhead that really has them fuming. Hunter Wimmer lives on 32nd Street. He said the tanker crash didn't wake him, nor did the explosion or collapsing freeway, although he vaguely remembers hearing something and going right back to sleep. But he knew something serious was up when the choppers started hovering at 5, 6 and 8 a.m. and never left. Except for nighttime, they've been at it nonstop ever since. "We don't pretend to live in a quiet neighborhood. We're on a bus route," he said. "But the freeway collapse will already impact our neighborhood with traffic, and now the helicopters are rubbing salt in the wound."
 Another example of traffic gridlock cause and effect. The Times' Cara Mia DiMassa reports that L.A. surpassed four million residents, according to a new state report. Some are cheering the milestone, others are worried about its impact on traffic, housing and other issues. Some are doing both:
Janelle Erickson, a spokeswoman for Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, wasn't weighing in about whether the numbers were a good or bad thing. But she did hint that she understood why people were moving to the city. "What the mayor always says is that Los Angeles is a city where the world comes together," Erickson said. "Los Angeles is a city of America's hope and promise, where the dreams of so many have come to life." Except, perhaps, on the 405 Freeway at rush hour. Or the Starbucks line at 8:30 a.m.
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 Westsiders have added a new concern to the raging debate over a proposal to convert Pico and Olympic boulevards into one-way streets: Valet parking. At the first public airing of the plan Tuesday night on the Westside, residents raised all the expected complaints, turning the boulevards into mini-freeways, encouraging more cut-through traffic in residential areas and the potential inconveniences if street parking is eliminated.
Then the discussion turned serious: Will Westsiders still be able to drop off their Mercedes coup or Hummer SUV in front of their favorite eateries? One woman in the audience whispered that she would just have to start eating dinner a little later, after any peak-hour restrictions are lifted.
Somehow, traffic engineers had not anticipated the question as they examined the potential for reducing traffic congestion between downtown L.A. and the Westside. But don’t worry, they promise to seek a solution.
-Jean Guccione
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 The Times' Tony Barboza writes about people to draw up "fantasy transit maps" of L.A. The Brown Line? The Pink Line? The Gray Line?:
At a time when a subway-to-the-sea along Wilshire Boulevard is still far from a reality, he is plotting it on a map anyway. With the click of a mouse, he puts a notch next to the Getty Center on the rail line he envisions branching off Wilshire Boulevard to follow the 405 Freeway corridor to the San Fernando Valley. "That's a good place for a station," he said. "It's an obvious traffic generator." In the same way, he has mapped out on his computer nearly a dozen other rail stations along light-rail and subway lines that don't exist, from La Habra to Chatsworth. He and other amateur cartographers are re-imagining public transportation in Los Angeles by crafting ambitious conceptual maps that depict the county blanketed with an East Coast-style rail network.
Continue reading "You wish..." »
 The mayor speaks in depth with US News about his vision for traffic and development. Not much news here, but the magazine does give him a forum to speak beyond sound bites on some of his views on mass transit and smart growth:
ON FREEWAYS VS MASS TRANSIT: "Given the density of the city, it's not viable to build more freeways. If building a freeway involves knocking down a neighborhood, it's not going to happen. It will be more cost effective to invest in public transportation. It's where we've got to go, it's where great cities around the world have gone, and we've just taken a little longer in realizing that.... The only way for us to reverse the pattern of more and more gridlock is to invest in public transportation on a scale that has heretofore been unprecedented. I'm talking about billions and billions and tens of billions of dollars and beyond."
ON GROWTH: "Here in Los Angeles, we think we have a God-given right to a 3,000-square-foot home with a backyard and a front yard and a pool in the back. And you know, people live great lives in New York, Chicago, London, Paris, Toronto, Tokyo, where they live in places where they work, they live more vertical. And very importantly, they are investing in public transportation."
Do you agree with the mayor? Hit COMMENT and speak out!
 It's not the 405 widening or the Subway to the Sea. But the Argonaut reported that residents and city leader are cheering that a widening of Centinela Avenue (long a rush-hour bottleneck):
Prior to the street-widening project, the corridor on Centinela between Culver and Washington Boulevards was often a bottleneck during rush hour. Due to the newly widened avenue, which includes an additional lane, traffic heading north and south should flow at a much more rapid pace, reducing the travel times of commuters who use the corridor frequently.... The street-widening project, which began in May, includes left-turn lanes and newly striped streets, new sidewalks, full-time parking on the west side of Centinela, restricted parking during peak commuter hours on the east side and additional lighting and landscaping.
 You'll have to wait until 2011. But some relief should be arriving to the 60 Freeway in the San Gabriel Valley. Work began today:
County and transportation officials broke ground today on a project to add carpool lanes on an 11.5-mile stretch of the Pomona (60) Freeway. One carpool lane will be added in each direction of the 60 between the San Gabriel River (605) and Orange (57) freeways. That stretch of the freeway is used by an estimated 211,000 drivers every day, according to the California Department of Transportation. "These highway improvement projects are providing congestion relief for California’s motorists," said Caltrans District Director Doug Failing. "We all want a California where people spend less time sitting on the freeways, less time commuting and more time with their families." Construction is expected to be completed by the summer of 2011.
 With gas prices hitting another record, some consumer advocates are questioning why oil companies are not doing more to increase capacity. The Times' Ronald White says they think they know the answer:
As of Monday, California drivers were paying an average of $3.359 for a gallon of self-serve regular gas, more than ever before, according to the Energy Department's weekly survey of service stations. The 4.3-cent spurt from last week contrasts with a 1.1-cent increase the week before and represents the 13th consecutive price increase in the state. The latest average topped the old record of $3.332 set May 8. Many fuel experts attribute the price run-up to refinery problems, which squeezed supplies. But consumer advocates blame refinery owners. "Oil companies that have refused to increase refinery capacity enough to meet population [growth] took refineries out of service for longer-than-usual maintenance as well as fires, leaks and even shortages of repair supplies, but refused to import gasoline to make up the difference," said Judy Dugan, research director at the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights. "Then they have the gall to behave as though gasoline prices are an act of fate, not the shortage that they created."
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 "The New 22" had its second grand opening today -- and it's not even completely done. All lanes on the widened Garden Grove Freeway are now open, but officials said more work is still needed (it will be done at night):
All lanes were open on the Garden Grove (22) Freeway today, with little to slow drivers other than the 55 mph speed limit in effect in construction zones while peripheral work, including landscaping, continues, officials said. The work that is expected to continue through July includes installing signs and adding rubberized asphalt on the freeway lanes in Garden Grove, said the Orange County Transportation Authority’s Ted Nguyen. "The new lanes are open but work is continuing," Nguyen said. "The rubberized asphalt project was added at the request of the residents of Garden Grove" and planners want "to see if it is quieter on the freeway." (CNS)
The big downtown march was so small (less than 5,000 people) that traffic in downtown is flowing well and some planned street closures have been delayed: The Times' Beth Shuster reports it took her 18 minutes to get down the 101 Freeway from Studio City to downtown -- a likely weekday record for her. The Times' Shirley Bermudez said her commute to downtown from Whittier -- normally 45 minutes -- took 30 minutes.
Marchers began moving north on Broadway. Police estimate 500 marchers, far less than organizers or city officials estimated.
-Tami Abdollah on Broadway
 Is $4 a gallon possible this summer? Some oil analysts are saying "maybe" now as California gas prices continue to rise, the Mercury News says:
Those hefty profits have many drivers grumbling over being gouged, but energy experts say widespread refinery problems plus continued worries about the Middle East are taking a heavy toll just as the weather warms up and American motorists head to the road in likely record numbers. "We're probably going to see $3.50, maybe $3.75 a gallon in California," said Chris Mennis, a petroleum broker in Aptos, saying there have been "six refinery glitches in one week across the country and now there's a threatened strike in Belgium that could shut down 600,000 barrels and the threat of a strike in Latin America.
Meanwhile, the Register has this news: "The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in California reached a new record of $3.359 today, topping the previous high by more than 2 cents, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported."
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 City officials aren't beating around the bush. They are urging people to avoid downtown L.A. if at all possible because of the big May 1 demonstrations planned for today. Here's a user's guide to getting around.
--Map showing May 1 traffic trouble spots.
--LADOT notice of service changes through downtown.
--MTA's May 1 protest plan.
--Full rundown of closures from City of L.A.
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 The governor -- while also dealing with the Bay Area freeway collapse -- is also stepping into another transportation issue, the looming strike threat at the OCTA:
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger interceded today in a threatened Orange County transit strike by bus drivers by initiating a process leading to a seven-day cooling-off period, officials said. Carolyn Cavecche, chair of the Orange County Transportation Authority, sent the governor a letter last week after bus drivers authorized a strike by a vote of 917 to 42, saying they were prepared to walk off the job if the OCTA board did not make a "realistic" offer. The governor said he has appointed a board to prepare a written fact- finding report on the offer to the drivers, which the OCTA’s Ted Nguyen has said would result in a more than 13 percent increase in wages and benefits over three years. (CNS)
 Here's a bad way to end that trip to the Coachilla Fest. KESQ-TV reports that dozens of concert-goers are stranded in the desert because of some bus scheduling snafus:
Dozens of fans, in fact, packed Indio's Greyhound bus station Monday, and many have waited as long as six hours for delayed buses. The would-be travelers waited in a long line in front of the station -- some camping out under the terminal's awning with coolers full of food and drink left over from the festival -- to keep hydrated in the 90-degree weather. Some may be missing connecting rides home in Los Angeles. ....Ellie Parslow who traveled to Coachella Fest from Scotland said bus officials told her there was a back-up and they were trying to bring in more buses from Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
 It looks like it's going to take awhile to fix that traffic nightmare in the Bay Area. The Chronicle says officials are talking several months. Meanwhile, The Times Maria LaGanga says it was a better-than-expected Monday commute. But will it last?
The chief engineer in charge of reconstructing the mangled ramps connecting Interstate 80 to two major East Bay freeways said this morning that it could take six weeks to several months to get the steel necessary to complete the job.... Today, Chief Engineer Rick Land warned that reconstruction could be delayed by a steel shortage, which is making it difficult for the state agency to locate the materials needed to fix the roadways. He said it would take anywhere from six weeks to several months to have the steel made to order for the I-580 ramp, but that the agency may be able to "borrow" materials from other Caltrans sites. Officials are still evaluating construction needs on the Interstate 880 ramp, where the truck actually crashed.
 As it pushes foward with proposed fare increases, the MTA announced today it is also looking to purchase 100 more buses. CNS says the buses are part of the MTA's effort to comply with the federal consent decree to improve bus service:
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Board of Directors agreed today to spend $86.4 million to buy 100 compressed natural gas buses, though a funding source has yet to be identified. ...The 60-foot buses will have seats for 57 passengers, almost double the capacity of a regular 40-foot bus. The 100 buses will be delivered to Metro by the spring of 2008. The transit agency has a fleet of 2,500 buses, 90 percent of which are fueled by natural gas.
 This one looks like it could snarl traffic on the 710 and beyond:
A multi-vehicle crash involving a big rig has left five people trapped in a vehicle on the northbound Long Beach (710) Freeway at at Firestone Boulevard in South Gate, according to the county fire department. (CNS)
 Why did that freeway overpass near the Bay Bridge fail? The Chronicle says it has to do with the incredible heat from the tanker explosion, which literally melted the normally rock-solid steel supports and popped bolts (similar to what happened at the World Trade Center). It's unclear exactly how long it took between when the fire started and when the bridge collapse:
The intense heat generated by 8,600 gallons of burning gasoline weakened the steel frame of the I-580 structure. It bent, pulled away from support columns, began popping bolts and collapsed, Kempton said. "Steel begins to melt at 2,750 degrees Fahrenheit,'' Kempton said. John Osteraas, a civil and structural engineer for Exponent Failure Analysis Associates, a Menlo Park firm that explores the causes of structural collapses, likened what apparently happened on I-580 to "the principle of blacksmithing." "The problem with structural steel,'' he said, "is that it loses strength and stiffness when it is heated. Think of a blacksmith with a red-hot horseshoe. It becomes very malleable.''
Was this a freak accident or raise concerns about the strength of roads? Hit COMMENT and speak out
 The CHP has long provided traffic enforcement services in unincorporated county areas. But the PE says that two fast-growing counties are now seeking the OK to have sheriff deputies do the job because the CHP is stretched thin and the traffic keeps increasing:
Supervisors in Riverside and Sacramento counties are considering deploying sheriff's deputies to enforce traffic laws in urbanized unincorporated communities if the California Highway Patrol can't increase its coverage in those areas. Riverside County Supervisor John Tavaglione and Sacramento County Supervisor Roger Dickinson want state lawmakers to give high-growth counties with fewer than 3 million people the option to authorize and fund traffic deputies.
 The Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University surveyed 1,400 L.A. residents about their concerns. The top issue? Traffic:
Growing traffic jams and rising gang violence top Los Angeles residents' lists of concerns — beating out global warming and even terrorism, a survey released today says. On a scale of one to 10 — with 10 being the worst — respondents rated traffic congestion a 7.7, edging out threat of gang violence at 7.6, according to the survey. (DN)
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 Didn't they already have the grand opening for the widened 22 Freeway? Yes, they did. But as anyone who uses the freeway knows, it's still very much under construction. But the OCR reports that it should really be done on Tuesday:
All concrete barriers and cones are to come down, so motorists along the Garden Grove (22) Freeway should see clearer sailing by their Tuesday-morning commute, as major work is scheduled to be finished on the freeway's $550 million-plus overhaul. At least that's the goal this time. In November, the Orange County Transportation Authority – with help from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger – prematurely heralded completion of the project's first phase. Turned out that the contractor still needed time to finish bridge improvements, stripe lanes and put up directional signs.
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Consider this when planning your Cinco de Mayo weekend:
