Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has a variety of tactics up his sleeve to try to alleviate the escalating car-congestion in and around L.A. The ferocious-sounding “Gridlock Tiger Team” will be on patrol and aggressively ticketing those who “block the box,” or get caught part-way through intersections after the traffic signals change.

The city will also look to improve traffic light synchronization to keep the jammed streets moving; incorporate more diagonal crosswalks at intersections to allow peds quicker street crossings; and install smart parking meters similar to those in San Francisco. By charging higher rates in more desirable locations and during busier times of the day, smart meters encourage a quicker turnover of parking spots and less time spent, gas burned, and congestion worsened by motorists continually circling the block.

The most exciting bit of Villaraigosa’s traffic-targeting actions is his encouragement for Angelenos to “go Metro” and use the city’s mass transit system. Villaraigosa plans to lead by example; as The L.A. Times’ Emerald City column reported, the mayor committed to ride a bus, subway, or light rail-line at least once a week. Villaraigosa is also kicking around the idea of raising the county’s sales tax by a half-cent to help pay for an expanded public transportation system, including a proposed “Subway to the Sea.” Although a half-cent doesn’t sound like much, the mayor estimates that such an increase would generate between $500 and $600 million per year.

Sounds like some exciting projects afoot in L.A., a city more known for its car-riddled sprawl and smog than its public transit. Let’s hope that Villaraigosa’s Metro work commute will be more legit than the less-than-green photo-ops of NYC’s mayor Bloomberg.

Photo via flickr by Bonnie and Victor Cats & andropolis.

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