EDITORIAL LISTEN TO THE BOSS CTC SHOULD HEED ARNOLD ON 405 RELIEF.

SOUTHERN California residents who want the state to deliver on highly anticipated bond money to relieve traffic on the 405 Freeway picked up a powerful ally Tuesday: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Schwarzenegger has joined Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and other local leaders in demanding that the California Transportation Commission pony up for the much-needed northbound car-pool lane from LAX to the Valley -- a project voters considered all but a given when they voted for state infrastructure bonds in November, but which the CTC staff has recommended against.

That decision was an outrage. Los Angeles has 28 percent of the state's population and 33 percent of its traffic, yet it's slated to get just a pathetic 12 percent of the allocated transportation funds. Worse yet, losing the state appropriation could imperil the chances of getting much-needed matching funds from Washington.

If simple fairness or good economics aren't enough to motivate the CTC's commissioners, we can only hope that the advice of the state's top elected official -- that is, their boss -- will be.