Peak Hour Restriction/Exemption Guidelines

Pursuant to LAMC 62.61 (formerly Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Executive Directive No. 2 - Rush Hour Construction on City Streets) no person or entity shall effect a "Traffic Lane Closure," perform work within or on any public street or right of way, or in any manner obstruct a public street or right of way on those "Street Classifications Subject to Work Hour Restrictions" during "Peak Traffic Hours," as defined as Monday through Friday, 6:00 am to 9:00 am and 3:30 pm to 7:00 pm unless a Peak Hour Exemption (PHE) is obtained (May 2, 2018 BOE Special Order #02-0418).  Any violation of the permittees obligations would be enforced under LAMC 80.06.1.

PEAK HOUR EXEMPTION REQUESTS

A Peak Hour Exemption (PHE) is obtained per the guidelines of the May 2, 2018 Bureau of Engineering Special Order No. 02-0418. A PDF of the Peak Hour Exemption Application packet can be found by clicking here or within the Checklists and Sample Documents of the Other BOE Permits/Processes section of the manual.

Staff will review applications for completeness and proper justification for the PHE.  Applicants may choose to address one or more of the following topics (not required to address all):

Technical Justification:

1. Construction activity is an un-interruptible process that must be completed once it is started. Examples include curing of sewer lining material, curing of concrete pavement, on-site fabrication of telecommunications systems, assembly and mobilization of drilling equipment.
2. Construction activity requires continuous traffic lane closure. Examples of this include excavations of deep shafts, delivery of perishable construction materials, operation of tunneling equipment, sewer bypass operations, and the situation where the physical condition of the construction site prevents re-opening of the street.

Circumstances that prevent work from being limited to non-rush hour periods:

1. Time constraints outside the control of the Applicant. Examples include Federal, State or Local labor laws, prescribed labor agreements, work time conditions imposed by environmental clearances, limited construction material delivery periods, time restrictions imposed by regulatory agencies, time restrictions caused by railroad or rail transit operations.

Denial of the exemption request would result in an unreasonable extension of overall project duration:

1. Examples of unreasonable extensions include time delays for power, water, sewer, gas, or critical telecommunication service to a customer, public facility, or community.
2. Time delays that extend construction impacts to local residents and businesses should be given careful consideration. Examples of construction impacts include construction traffic, noise, dust, impeded access to private property, impeded access to business customers, potential loss of business activity, conflicts with holidays and public events.

Legal requirements or constraints that justify work during rush hour:

1. Examples include deadlines contained in grant funding agreements, court ordered agreements, regulatory compliance requirements, prescribed contractual agreements, railroad agreements, prescribed maintenance agreements, and City Franchise agreements.
2. If the City does not have jurisdiction to permit the construction activity, the construction work hours will be governed by the permitting authority and not this Special Order. For example, for construction activity of State Highways, the permitting authority is Caltrans.

Cost impacts:

1. Denial of the request would result in an unreasonably high cost.
2. Compare the cost to implement non-rush hour work to the total project cost and total project budget.
3. Examples of acceptable costs to consider include additional labor costs, additional material costs, material delivery surcharges, costs for additional mobilization and de-mobilization, additional fuel costs, additional rental or lease costs, additional overhead costs, costs associated with contractual compliance, costs associated with loan guarantees.

Public outreach and coordination with community events:

1. Examples include documentation of public and political office outreach and efforts to mitigate community concerns.
2. Examples include documentation that the applicant has coordinated with event listed in the Public Way Reservation System.

Traffic Management Plan:

1. Traffic Management Plan (TMP) - While L.A.M.C. Section 62.61 refers to a "Traffic Management Plan", for the purposes of this BOE Special Order, this can refer to any Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) approved Standard Plans including a Worksite Traffic Control Plan (WTCP) or a Traffic Control Plan (TCP) or a LADOT approved application of the Work Area Traffic Control Handbook (WATCH).
2. Review the TMP to confirm that LADOT has approved the plan for use during Peak Traffic Hours. The LADOT's approval must stipulate that the TMP is approved for AM peak hours, PM peak hours, or both AM and PM peak hours.
3. The TMP may optionally stipulate that the plan approval is valid for durations longer than 60 days. If this is not stipulated, then the exemption, if granted, will be valid for 60 days.
4. Contact LADOT to understand the potential traffic impact of the request.
5. Requests that have less traffic impacts should require less justification.
6. Requests that have greater traffic impacts should have better documented justification.

CITY COUNCIL OFFICE CONCURRENCE

Because City Council Districts are often the first City offices to be contacted by the public when traffic is impacted and need to be made aware of potential impacts to traffic within their districts.  This also allows the Council District Offices to become more familiar with local events and activities that may conflict with a requested PHE request.

Staff should confirm the affected City Council District(s) have been coordinated with y the applicant.  Applicant should submit the following:

• A copy of an email from the affected City Council District confirming concurrence with the requested PHE.  If no email can be submitted, the applicant may submit ALL the following “other” documentation:
  • A copy of the email sent to the City Council District addressed to at least two designated staff in a City Council District
  • An email "read receipt" to confirm that the email has been opened.
  • Emails to the City Council District summarizing phone conversations or messages.
  • City Council Districts should be given 10 business days to respond to emails.
  • A log containing dates of each of the above steps
• Programmatic concurrence documentation:  In lieu of individual City Council Office concurrences, City Council Offices may choose to provide PHE concurrences on a programmatic basis.

DECISION ON THE PHE REQUEST

Denied

Via email, City staff should send an email to the applicant with a brief explanation of why the request is being denied.

Approved

Via email, City staff will send a PHE Approval Letter (sample at the end of this document).  This letter must include the following:

• Address (closest physical address, intersection, or centerline tie)
• Project name
• Permit log number
• Exact lane closures with physical limits
• Street classification
• Specific dates and times of the exemption
• Any disclaimer information
• Extension renewal deadline

OTHER EXEMPTION CONDITIONS

• No blanket exemptions will be granted
• A single Letter should not cover more than 60 days unless otherwise stipulated on the LADOT approved TMP, though extensions may be granted if needed.
• Contractor’s shall have a copy of the Letter and the approved TMP on all active work sites for the duration of the exemption. 
• Exemption documents must be available to City Staff from all inquiring Departments always. Failure to do so may result in an order to stop work and/or penalties assessed per LAMC Section 80.06.1. A copy of the exemption Letter shall be provided to the Bureau of Contract Administration, the Bureau of Street Services, the LADOT, and the affected City Council District.

GEOCODE THE APPROVED PHE IN NAVIGATE LA

Geocode the geographic limits of the approved PHE on Navigate LA's layer for Peak Hour Exemptions. The PHE Letter should also be uploaded.

EXTENSIONS

The applicant can apply for an extension two weeks prior to the expiration of the Letter. Extensions will be processed the same way as the original exemption request.