EDITORIAL A FUTURE OF GRIDLOCK BAD NEWS COMING FOR ALREADY CLOGGED ROADS.

TO natives and visitors alike, Los Angeles freeways are synonymous with gridlock. And unless things change, Los Angeles freeways will someday soon be synonymous with the phrase ``grinding halt.''

That's a fact, not just speculation, traffic experts say, because of the region's influx of thousands of new residents but few new roads.

Angelenos got a little preview of the upcoming traffic attraction last fall, thanks to a strike by workers of the city bus and rail services. For more than a month, those half a million or so people who normally use public transportation had to find other means to get to work, school or appointments. Many chose to drive. The situation did not go unnoticed.

Even that small increase of congestion gnarled up road traffic during peak drive times, as much as doubling the average commutes for many people. The only thing that kept drivers from going traffic-crazy was the expectation the strike had to end sometime.

And that's nothing compared to what we have to look forward to.

Traffic engineers expect strain on area freeways to grow yearly by a 1.25 percent increase in car trips, or 680,000.

In the San Fernando Valley, where the Ventura Freeway is already at capacity, this could be catastrophic. Even now, getting across the Valley during rush hour takes an hour at best. Population estimates anticipate 17 percent growth in the Valley by 2030.

Imagine what 245,000 more car trips on the Valley's roads every single year might mean on top of the strain from 6 million more in the entire region.

Not a pretty picture, is it?

Just as in science fiction stories, we don't have to succumb to that inevitable future. With some fortitude - and some leadership - we can make the changes that will not only avoid the crunch of tomorrow but ease some of the traffic of today.

First, traffic planners must adopt some of the quick-hit congestion solutions, such as 240 smaller projects suggested by residents to improve flow on the Ventura Freeway.

But that will not be enough to deal with the increased loads on roads by mid-century. It is absolutely incumbent on transportation leaders to begin now to come up with real solutions for the bigger roadblocks ahead.