Street Closures

Saying they want the facts first, then opinions, five City Council members voted to spend $30,000 to study whether to reopen the streets behind Ventura High School to school-day traffic. The reopening of Poli Street will not be considered. Councilman Jim Monahan was not at the meeting, and Councilman Steve Bennett abstained because he lives within 2,500 feet of the hillside streets.

We have one word for you, Mr. President, the next time you want to sweep into Los Angeles late on a weekday afternoon: Helicopter. That way, you can avoid the streets the rest of us mere residents must use to get around. President Obama's fundraising mission in Los Angeles on Monday evening may have been a whirlwind trip for him, but it was a tedious slog for the thousands who found themselves in gridlock from the Westside to downtown. A Brentwood resident's two-mile jaunt took 45 minutes.

With a quick visit to Los Angeles at rush hour, President Obama raised $1 million Monday for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. He also alienated some Angelenos, at least temporarily, as his motorcade mangled evening traffic en route from the Beverly Hilton to the Hancock Park home of producer John Wells, whose credits include "West Wing," "ER" and "Southland. " Onlookers lined Olympic Boulevard, snapping cellphone photos. One person held a small sign declaring, "We need jobs.

A one-man SigAlert Re " Obama raises cash, L.A. commuter ire," Aug. 17 I'd like to thank President Obama for ruining my evening and that of many thousands of other Angelenos who found it extremely difficult to make our way home because of his visit to raise money for the Democratic Party. It is hard to imagine how he could have picked a worse time to travel through the streets of West Los Angeles to meet with a few high-and-mighty individuals and fill his party's coffers.

Seeking to alleviate traffic congestion near South Pasadena Middle School before and after the school day, the city is considering closing off Rollin Street to through traffic. A city advisory committee is examining four potential solutions to relieve congestion at the school. All the alternatives involve an Edison Co. right of way between Rollin and Oak streets to be used for student drop-off and pick-up. In addition, three of the solutions call for mid-block closures of Rollin Street.

An interim plan to replace the closed part of Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House with strips of grass has been abandoned by federal officials, leaving a six-lane slab of asphalt for now. The 40-foot-wide sections of grass proposed for the middle of the street were supposed to be sown by now and the concrete barriers at 15th and 17th streets replaced with beige and gray planters of flowers and trees. The 115 planters are to be installed next week.

Nutwood Street between Stanford and Lampson avenues will be closed to through traffic due to construction starting today and ending the second week of March. During that time, the city will install a storm drain system to improve drainage and alleviate flooding at the Nutwood Street/Lampson Avenue intersection. Normal work hours run from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. During construction, parking will be restricted, but access to homes and businesses will remain open.

A natural-gas leak forced the closure of Lankershim Boulevard on Saturday and temporarily derailed a test run of the new MTA subway line, a city fire spokesman said. Workers using a backhoe to install electrical lines for a new traffic signal accidentally sheered off the valve of a 4-inch gas main about 8:40 a.m. in the 3900 block of Lankershim, said Brian Humphrey of the Los Angeles Fire Department. No one was injured.

A special meeting of the city's Transportation Committee this week yielded no solutions to the debate over gates near San Fernando High School that were designed to block access to a city street that runs through campus, officials said Friday. A committee of residents and school officials are expected to convene sometime in June to try to iron out their differences, city officials said.