by Garth Meyer
A box truck pulled up to a red light on Palos Verdes Boulevard at Prospect Avenue one day last fall, its passenger-side window down.
A man working on shrubbery in his front yard looked up.
“Hey, this is not a truck route,” John Perchulyn said.
The two men in the cab looked over.
“Do you own this street?” the passenger said.
“As a matter of fact, I do, I pay taxes here and you don’t,” Perchulyn said.
The passenger shrugged, the light changed and the truck drove on.
It was past the year-and-a-half point of Perchulyn’s effort to change the situation. Three Redondo Beach streets which are non-truck routes, however, are legal truck routes at their entry/exit points to Torrance.
Signs went up in mid-February on the three streets in Torrance; Palos Verdes Boulevard, Del Amo and Sepulveda. The signs contain messages such as, “No Trucks 1,000 Feet.”
“As a courtesy, Torrance put up the new signs to notify truck drivers that the truck routes end. Our enforcement will stay the same,” said Stephen Sprengle, Redondo Beach police chief, in e-mail to Easy Reader.
The RBPD undertook four enforcement operations along the non-truck routes in the past year, in conjunction with the California Highway Patrol. Redondo Beach City Councilman Brad Waller reports that each time a coordinated enforcement takes place, banned truck traffic decreases.
Waller and City Manager Mike Witzansky met with Torrance representatives on the subject last August. Redondo Beach made (and paid for) the signs that were put up.
“The signs aren’t going to solve the problem, but they should help,” Waller said.
Witzansky met with Perchulyn and Palos Verdes Blvd. neighbor Tony Magana Jan. 8.
Waller suggests Redondo Beach residents give public input to Torrance on the matter as well.
“Our truck routes are on major roads, Torrance Boulevard, PCH,” Waller said, in comparison.
The councilman, who attended the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Los Angeles in February, hosted by Google, said he will send a message to the company to ask if they are the data source for truck route apps.
Perchulyn continues to advocate for further attention to this overall matter.
“After two years, three years, they’ve achieved nothing,” he said.
What about the meeting with the city manager?
“It was a good meeting, Mike updated us….” he said.
What about the signs and the enforcement efforts?
“They didn’t deter anybody,” Perchulyn said.
How does he know?
“We’ve got 135 trucks a day going by the front of my house, that’s how I know,” he said.
“What is the plan? The city has no plan that I can tell.”
Perchulyn has written more than 300 letters to trucking companies and filed complaints with the California Department of Transportation.
Witzansky
City Manager Witzansky stated that the new signs will allow Redondo Beach Police to more easily enforce the truck bans.
“We have given more citations on Palos Verdes Boulevard and Prospect than any other intersection in the city over the last several months,” Witzansky said, referring to all types of traffic infringements, not just those by trucks.
The joint enforcement efforts with the California Highway Patrol on Palos Verdes Blvd. will continue, Witzansky said, though it is not certain it will be four times this year.
“I think some of the problem is awareness, and some of it’s drivers drawn to the convenience,” he said. “We think the signs will help, but undoubtedly more enforcement will be needed. It’s an issue that traffic enforcement has taken seriously for some time, the last 6-12 months.”
Status
On Tuesday morning, March 3, Perchulyn recorded video of a Pepsi semi-truck going through the Palos Verdes Blvd./Prospect Ave. intersection from Torrance.
“The signage is not working,” he said. “At 8:11, a large tractor-trailer stopped adjacent to our house, producing excessive brake noise and engine disturbance that impacted not just one household, but all the residents along its path.”
Perchulyn then photographed an R-L Carriers semi Tuesday afternoon, coming from Torrance, with an All-American Movers truck right behind it. An hour later, XPO, Piece of Cake Moving & Storage and a blank white truck, each from Torrance as well.
All told, what Perchulyn seeks is more information on an enforcement plan.
“Without a defined strategy—whether through directed patrols, citation protocols, traffic studies, or coordinated monitoring,” he said. “There is little reason to expect meaningful change in driver behavior.”
Palos Verdes Blvd. resumes being a truck route once it crosses Pacific Coast Highway.
“The new signs make every Redondo Beach police enforcement action more defensible and effective,” Councilman Waller said. “It’s not a regulation change; it’s a practical improvement that strengthens the rules already on the books. I’ll keep pressing Torrance to sustain this momentum.” ER
SIDEBAR:
The Redondo Beach Police Department’s traffic unit answered Easy Reader questions regarding the truck routes. Answers provided by Police Chief Stephen Sprengel.
For the enforcement, so there were four concentrated efforts on this last year, in conjunction with State Patrol?
Yes. During 2025, the Redondo Beach Police Department coordinated four focused commercial vehicle enforcement details in partnership with the California Highway Patrol (CHP). Those operations resulted in 102 vehicle code and truck route violations. In addition, CHP conducted 52 Level II commercial vehicle inspections.
A CHP Level II inspection, which may only be performed by an officer who has received specialized training and certification, is a roadside inspection that includes a review of the driver’s credentials (license, medical certificate, logbook, etc.), as well as a safety inspection of the vehicle itself, including brakes, tires, lights, cargo securement, and other safety equipment. These inspections are designed to ensure compliance with state and federal commercial vehicle safety regulations.
Is this the plan for the future, to have four more of these this year?
The Department intends to continue coordinating commercial vehicle enforcement efforts with CHP. The number and frequency of future details will depend on CHP availability, staffing considerations, and traffic enforcement needs throughout the city. Our goal is to conduct targeted enforcement throughout the city where data, complaints, or observed activity indicate a need for additional compliance efforts.
Could you add a little information about how they work?
These operations are conducted during times when resources can be allocated for commercial vehicle compliance. CHP personnel temporarily close or restrict a lane of traffic at a location and direct commercial vehicles into the inspection area. CHP officers then conduct safety inspections and regulatory compliance checks.
Redondo Beach traffic officers assist with traffic control, coordination with CHP, and monitoring the surrounding area for vehicle code violations. Officers also enforce applicable provisions of the Redondo Beach Municipal Code, including truck route restrictions in the city. The objective of these operations is to enhance roadway safety, ensure commercial vehicle compliance, and address community concerns related to truck traffic. ER
