Big education rallies Thursday afternoon could cause traffic jams in Westwood, downtown L.A.
March 4, 2010 | 11:28 am
Authorities are warning of possible traffic delays Thursday afternoon in Westwood and downtown Los Angeles because of planned protests against cuts in education spending.
A large demonstration is scheduled to start around noon on the UCLA campus, with speakers and activities set to last several hours. The protesters have a permit to march off campus at about 5:30 p.m. They are expected to march south along Westwood Boulevard and then cut through some side streets to Wilshire Boulevard and back to campus along Westwood Boulevard, according to an Los Angeles police advisory.
The permit is for 150 people, but the statement notes that officials "expect more." No formal street closures have been scheduled.
Separately, many busloads of students, faculty and staff from Southern California universities and high schools are scheduled to converge at about 4 p.m. at Pershing Square in downtown Los Angeles and then march about three blocks for a rally an hour later near the Ronald Reagan State Office Building on Spring Street.
Police say there will be intermittent street closures along Olive Street, Hill Street, Broadway and Spring Street and around Fourth and Fifth Streets, and they urge drivers to seek other routes, particularly Figueroa Street as a possible better route to freeway entrances.
Rallies, teach-ins and student walkouts are scheduled throughout California, and around the nation, in what organizers describe as a "Day of Action" in opposition to teacher layoffs, furlough days and rising student fees. Much of the day’s activities are organized by labor unions and student government organizations, which predict that thousands of students, faculty and staff will participate.
Events are planned in, among other spots, Sacramento, Long Beach and San Diego, as well as in New York City, Boston, Seattle and Baton Rouge, La.