http://www.avpress.com/n/05/0105_s1.hts
Council bans stopping at Four Points
Mayor: It's about safety, not immigration
This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press on Friday, January 5, 2007.
By BOB WILSON
Valley Press Staff Writer
PALMDALE - The City Council banned vehicles from stopping near the Four Points intersection, which has been a popular gathering spot for day laborers looking for work and in recent months has become the scene of protests against illegal immigration.
The reason given by City Hall staff for banning vehicle stops in the area was the improvement of safety along the city's arterial roadways.
With Councilman Steve Knight absent and without discussion, the council voted 4-0 Wednesday night to prohibit motorists from stopping on:
Pearblossom Highway between 47th Street East and Avenue T;
Fort Tejon Road from 47th Street East to Pearblossom Highway;
Avenue T from Pearblossom Highway to 62nd Street East; and
State Route 138 from Avenue T to Cheseboro Road.
City traffic officers looked at all four locations "and determined that, due to current improvements and resident concerns, it would be in the best interests of the city to prohibit stopping at this time," a staff report to the council showed.
Interviewed before the meeting, Mayor Jim Ledford said the proposal was meant "to address the problem of people stopping, whether it's to hire somebody or do something else." Local government's authority in this case involves public safety, not immigration law, the mayor said.
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