ALL EVENTS ARE SPECIAL TO CITY TRAFFIC DIVISION.

Byline: Beth Barrett

Staff Writer

In the obscurity of a warehouse just east of downtown Los Angeles, a tight-knit cadre of nine city workers toils many days nearly around the clock.

On a worn, gray couch in a backroom, the workers take turns catching catnaps as they work into the wee hours of the morning choreographing some of the most detailed traffic plans in the world.

Created by the late Mayor Tom Bradley after an Oscar winner arrived late to the 1986 awards show and blamed L.A. traffic, the specialized division handled about 45 events a year for a while.

Today, however, the Special Traffic Operations Division gets about 3,000 requests a year and handles about 10 percent that are the most complex -- or nearly one every day -- for everything from the massive L.A. Marathon to celebratory parades that draw thousands.

Faced with daunting demands from elected officials and Angelenos for perfectly orchestrated events, the team and its tattered couch represents the face of thousands of municipal employees across the city who work as much for pride and love of the city as they do for money.

"I am not unique," said Ali Mahdavi, the senior transportation engineer who oversees the division and hasn't spent Christmas with his family in seven years, because he wants his employees to be home with theirs.

"There are hundreds of them. For every employee you see sitting on his butt all day, there are 10 employees that are working hard. That's the truth."

A Daily News review of city workers' salaries earlier this month included Mahdavi's $121,605 a year. But his position isn't eligible for overtime, which means others in his own division are better compensated than he is because of their extra pay.

Last year, the division's eight other workers earned a combined total of $300,000 in overtime.

Although city employees' wages are often higher than private sector employees' in comparable industries -- and the salaries and OT pay for city workers have played a key role in driving L.A.'s current budget deficit -- many city workers like Mahdavi and his team say the pay is well-deserved because they serve the public well out of a sense of civic duty.

In calls and e-mails since the Daily News posted city employees' names, positions and salaries on its Web site at dailynews.com, dozens of employees have described their work -- and in some cases sacrifices -- on behalf of the public.

And epitomizing that dedication is the Special Traffic Operations Division, where team members bond by buying their own division shirts with their own money, chip in to buy pizza for engineers who are recruited from other parts of DOT to work special events, and take for granted that vacations will be sporadic.

"Why do I do it? This is my division. This is my city," Mahdavi said.

Small division

Mahdavi and his right-hand man Aram Sahakian, a transportation engineer who acts as incident commander in the field and last year made $50,000 in overtime on top of his base salary of $103,400, have worked together since the 1994 Northridge Earthquake.

Mahdavi has headed the unit for a decade and while the division is small, it marshals hundreds of traffic officers, engineers and other DOT workers for major events.

In fiscal year 2006-07, such special events cost taxpayers $11.1 million because of council-approved, special-event fee waivers. The Department of Transportation incurred $5.2 million in costs, while fire and police incurred a combined $4.1 million, and street services cost $1.8 million.

The fee waivers have become controversial in recent months, however, as city officials grapple to close a $406 million budget gap that is the largest in city history. After writing off the fee waivers for years, City Council members are now vowing to reform the practice.

Alan Willis, principal transportation engineer whose responsibilities include the division, said the entire city pays through the general fund for each special event while only a fraction of the population sees any direct benefits.

But Bruce Gillman, DOT spokesman, said it's not the value of the many fundraising and other special events that's in question, but whether some reimbursement to the city also is warranted.

For the annual Los Angeles Marathon alone, 200 traffic officers and over 100 engineers -- or about one-quarter of DOT's staff, excluding its crossing guards -- are recruited to close 30 miles of streets using 5,490 barricades.

The officers and engineers also then control the intersections, following an intricate and detailed playbook developed by Mahdavi's team that leaves nothing to chance.

Mahdavi said he demands discipline and workers often pull long hours. He says only one person in the division has ever missed the 1:30 a.m. roll call for the marathon.

Mahdavi also personally handles hundreds of calls from people concerned events will interfere with their businesses or personal lives, and he tailors small plans for them, too.

And any of his employees who make mistakes or ignore public concerns are held accountable in writing.

"They have to write the good, the bad and the ugly, and I want to hear. The next year they see in the package (traffic plan) that things are corrected," he said.

The payoff is that employees consistently are rewarded with freedom to do their jobs and get credit for the results.

"They could design something, plan something, bring it back and on the day of the event, they go to the field and do it," Mahdavi said.

He said he hand-picks employees who understand their civic responsibilities sometimes demand going the extra mile.

"You must accept that to be a public servant you are not up here just for your glory or whatever it is. We are here together. We must do the job right," he said.

"People depend on us, and I tell them all the time, if something happens, if somebody gets killed, you would never, never forget it for the rest of your life."

Sahakian said Mahdavi leads by example.

"Three months before the marathon and you walk in at 2 a.m. and chances are you'll see Ali working at his desk," Sahakian said.

"We believe in management by walking," Mahdavi said. "You walk, you talk, you sit, you eat with them, you do things together and you listen to them. When they do something right I reward them.

"Rank means nothing in this division. My boss on a regular day will work under me when we work in the field."

Worldwide reach

Mahdavi also is selective, with engineers having to get 200 or 300 special events under their belts before they get tougher assignments. A core group of 40 engineers has at least 500 events worth of experience.

There is no preferential parking at the office, either. But as modest as the unit's operations are, its reach has extended around the world as event coordinators from Japan and elsewhere tap its expertise.

Mahdavi said the unit has been built on the shoulders of dedicated city workers. He said his supervisors taught him to value details, to balance them with budget and time, and to be respectful to employees and the public.

And the team's tattered couch -- which the workers salvaged and took up a collection to clean -- is symbolic of the work ethic, discipline and civic pride that has been fostered among the team.

Gillman said the division has thrived because of that teamwork.

"There is an esprit de corps."

beth.barrett(at)dailynews.com

818 713-3731

Team has its own Lakers game plan

The Special Traffic Operations Division handles intricate plans for hundreds of annual events across Los Angeles.

The division has a special hot line for events -- 323-224-6534 -- and a Web site for more information at http:trafficinfo.lacity.org

To offer a look at the complexity of their planning, Aram Sahakian of the division provided some details of three sets of traffic management plans it is designing in the event the Lakers' advance in the NBA playoffs.

Here are excerpts:

Plan I. Semifinal series and final series games, excluding the final conference championship game and final championship game.

Plan II. Conference championship and final championship games.

Plan III. Parade route plan, accommodating over 250,000 spectators if the Lakers are to clinch the final championship title. This requires extensive planning due to the fact that the festivities and the parade will be scheduled on a weekday, and the size of the crowd.

All of the above factor in contingencies to address unexpected situations.

Every TMP is designed factoring in procedures from the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and the Unified Command System. This ensures seamless communication among city and outside first-responder agencies.

Plan I requires the deployment of five highly experienced transportation engineers, one engineer-in-charge, activation of the Automated Traffic Surveillance and Control Center, and a minimum of 20 traffic officers stationed at key intersections. Additional traffic officer relief units and supervisors will also be deployed in the field.

This plan addresses the impacted area within the following boundaries: Olympic Boulevard to the north, Venice Boulevard to the south, Flower Street to the east and the Harbor 110 Freeway to the west.

Plan II requires the deployment of eight highly experienced transportation engineers, one engineer-in-charge, one engineering liaison deployed to the Unified Command Post, the division's senior transportation engineer, the activation of the ATSAC Center, and a minimum of 35 traffic officers stationed at key intersections. Additional traffic officer relief units and supervisors will also be deployed in the field.

This plan is implemented in three consecutive phases starting at the beginning of the second quarter, halftime and the beginning of the fourth quarter, respectively.

Plan II addresses the impacted area within the following boundaries: 9th Street to the north, Washington Boulevard to the south, Grand Avenue to the east and Union Avenue to the west.

All traffic management plans include the following components:

Temporary parking prohibition plan to maximize capacity and accommodate the increased volume of traffic.

Parking plan, identifying availability of spaces within South Park including the Convention Center, and guiding attendees to these parking lots taking into account the freeway off-ramp system and major highways in the South Park Complex.

Detailed intersection plans at hard and soft closure points including turn prohibitions where applicable. Soft closures allow local access to residents and businesses.

Detailed event street closure timelines.

Signal timing plans for pre- and post-event.

Traffic detour plan based on street geometry, traffic and pedestrian volume counts, distance, mass transit routes.

Identifying hot points and access to these critical locations. Hot points include emergency room access to hospitals in the area impacted by the street closures, police and fire stations, communication centers and hubs such as One Wilshire building, access to the subway and light rail system, hotels and other key establishments critical for the continuity of operations.

Engineering and traffic officer deployment.

A communications plan.

A resource plan including all equipment such as barricades, cones, electronic changeable message signs, static signs, vehicles, communication equipment.

Emergency evacuation plan.

Public outreach plan including dissemination of critical information to the public via Changeable Message Signs (CMS), static signs, the department's Web site, and a toll-free number.

A notification plan including procedures to inform all impacted businesses and residents within the impacted Central Business District Area (CBD) via the Business Improvement District (BID) and the local Chamber of Commerce. The plan will also notify the Los Angeles Film Permit Office and the city's Bureau of Contract Administration to cease any filming and construction activities within the impacted areas and detour routes.

A public mass transit plan. This plan will be developed with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Freeway off-ramp closure plan coordinated through Caltrans and the California Highway Patrol.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) Traffic engineer Aram Sahakian radios his crew during gridlock conditions near Staples Center.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer

(2) Ali Mahdavi is a senior transportation engineer who has been in charge of the Special Traffic Operations Division for a decade.

John McCoy/Staff Photographer

Box:

Team has its own Lakers game plan (see text)