CITY SHELVES DNC TRAFFIC PLAN OFFICIALS CONCEDE 'PASSES' MAY RESTRICT ACCESS.

Byline: Beth Barrett Staff Writer

Pushed by civil rights activists and residents, Los Angeles city officials backed off a plan Thursday to restrict traffic around Staples Center during the Democratic National Convention.

The American Civil Liberties Union has argued that limiting access to residents and those with businesses within the area would be unconstitutional.

Frank Martinez, the city's coordinator for the DNC, said a ``local access pass'' system was being scrapped in the face of those objections.

``There will be no passes,'' Martinez said. ``Instead, there will be signage and traffic officers to help direct people to detours or when traffic is backed up.''

American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California attorney Dan Tokaji said the revision sounds acceptable, but he wants to see it formalized. ``So long as they don't stop people, it sounds good.''

The city's traffic restrictions would have affected neighborhoods outside the convention's secure zone, including the area bounded by 11th Street on the north, the Harbor Freeway on the east, Venice Boulevard on the south, and Union Avenue on the west.

In an Aug. 2 letter to the City Attorney's Office, the ACLU said limiting access to residents and those with business in the immediate vicinity of the convention center would impose ``selective'' access in violation of the state's vehicle code and the constitution.

``We are concerned that immigrants in the area will be hardest hit,'' Tokaji said. ``There may be language barriers, and people may have difficulty explaining their purpose.''

Martinez said the pass system was intended to help locals get to their homes and businesses and no interrogations were ever planned.

The ACLU's letter also raised the specter of improper interference by traffic officers.

``Residents of the affected area have the right to access their homes and the right to receive visits from family and friends without official interrogation,'' the letter says.

``Unless every traffic control officer is multilingual, many people will be unable to communicate with the officer and explain their purpose. This 'pass' system for public streets should be abandoned.''

Martinez said the city's lawyers agreed the plan entered constitutional ``gray areas,'' in deciding not to use the pass system. In particular, it was unclear how the city intended - if at all - to keep out people without passes who insisted on entering the restricted traffic zone.

The ACLU on July 27 won major concessions for protest groups from the city in moving a designated demonstration site to a parking lot across the street from Staples Center, within earshot of the delegates.

They also got guarantees that Pershing Square in the heart of downtown can be used for permitted demonstrations, with loud speakers and stage equipment authorized.

The city stipulated to those terms after a federal judge ruled its original plan marginalized protesters to outlying areas in violation of the constitution's free speech provisions.