STEPPED-UP CHP TRAFFIC PROGRAM ACHIEVES GRIDLOCK RELIEF.

Byline: Orith Goldberg Staff Writer

The California Highway Patrol's year-old experiment at clearing crashes faster on the Ventura Freeway has improved traffic flows and response times so successfully it will be the model for two similar programs in Los Angeles County.

Prior to the program, the average response time was 21 minutes, and the average time on the scene was 37 minutes. During August 2001, the average response time was five minutes and the on-scene average was 10 minutes, according to the CHP.

Although there was a 1.8 percent increase in collisions during the third quarter of the program from the same time the year before, the average daily traffic flow increased about 2 percent, from 287,081 vehicles to 292,079 vehicles, West Valley CHP Capt. Mike Poore said.

The program - 15 officers specifically assigned to get to crashes, stalled cars and other impediments quickly - was implemented Nov. 1, 2000, by the CHP's West Valley Division on a five-mile stretch of the Ventura Freeway between Van Nuys and Lankershim boulevards.

``I know for a fact that this (program) does make a big difference and the CHP should be commended for doing this,'' said David Fleming, co- chairman of the recently formed San Fernando Valley Transportation Strike Force and chairman of the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley.

``They are really the emergency room of traffic congestion, these are the guys who make a difference.''

The program, known as the Focus Congestion Management Program, was made possible by $14.5 million used to add 150 motorcycle officers at freeway ``choke points.''

``Their main function is to clear any type of hazard from the road to alleviate any type of congestion,'' Poore said.

The West Valley CHP station has 15 officers specifically deployed to clear impediments from the roadway. Seven of those officers work the morning shift, between 5:30 a.m. and 2 p.m., and eight officers work the afternoon shift, from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., Poore said.

The West Valley pilot project has been extended because of its success, and the Southern CHP division plans to implement similar programs on stretches of highways in East Los Angeles and Baldwin Park by January 2002, said CHP Southern Division Chief Mike Brown.

``The purpose is to have additional officers to respond to the scene much more quickly than wait for someone to call,'' Brown said, adding that the public is also less likely to drive recklessly or aggressively with officers so visible.

Most of the officers conducting the patrols are on motorcycles, which can navigate more easily in traffic, Brown said, adding that some patrol cars are also necessary to assist with helping vehicles from the roadway.

While other divisions throughout the state may have chosen to split officers allotted for the project and deploy them to different ``choke points,'' the West Valley division focused specifically on the five-mile northbound and five-mile southbound stretches of the Ventura Freeway between Van Nuys and Lankershim boulevards with positive results, officials said.

Fleming said that while he served on the California Transportation Commission he learned that even heavy traffic can move at high speeds if crashes and other impediments are removed quickly.

``That's why the CHP program makes so much sense,'' Fleming said. ``By clearing accidents quicker, you save (time),'' he said. ``If you save five minutes of time in clearing freeway accidents, you end up saving a half-hour in congestion.''

To improve the program, the CHP purchased within the past month a $380,000 fixed-wing Cessna T-206H, based out of Fullerton, that will be used in the Valley to assist ground units, Brown said.

``It's kind of like having a beat partner in the air,'' Brown said. ``It helps us out tremendously.''

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, map

Photo:

(1) CHP Officer Robin Johnson, left, helps motorists on the side of the Ventura Freeway. Johnson is one of 15 officers assigned to get to crashes, stalled cars and other impediments quickly.

(2 -- ran in Bulldog edition only) A CHP officer prepares to merge back into traffic after helping out a motorist near the San Diego-Ventura freeways interchange.

John Lazar/Staff Photographer

Map:

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