For his surprise marriage proposal, Art Streiber...

For his surprise marriage proposal, Art Streiber wanted to pick a romantic spot where he and his girlfriend had spent a lot of time together.

So he chose the Santa Monica Freeway.

Pulling off the side of the road at the La Brea exit one recent afternoon, Streiber, 26, jumped out of the car and set up a camera on a tripod as Glynis Costin watched in puzzlement. Then he pulled out a chilled bottle of champagne from the trunk, knelt on one knee in the dirt, produced a ring and proposed.

He had to talk fast, since the self-timer on the camera was whirring away.

Costin, a 28-year-old fashion editor for Fairchild Publications, said yes.

“She asked me why here, and I explained, ‘This is where we spend most of our time,’ ” said Streiber, a photographer for Fairchild who frequently travels to assignments with Costin. “I told her: ‘Whenever you pass the La Brea exit, you’ll be reminded of this moment.’ ”

If only it held such happy memories for the rest of the commuters.

Bill Brown wasn’t married on a freeway but he practically lives on the road.

Brown, a 59-year-old produce truck loader, has been commuting 242 miles between his home in Yucca Valley (near Palm Springs) and his job in downtown Los Angeles for 17 years, six times a week.

And he says he’s only been late twice.

Brown, who has logged about 1.3 million miles (in seven vehicles) in that time, was located during a search by Kraco, a Compton-based automotive electronics company, to honor the “U.S.A.’s No. 1 Commuter.”

Although that title went to a Tennessee man who drives 281 miles each day, Kraco gave Brown an award for career achievement in commuting--even though he avoids the rush hours. Brown leaves for work at 2 a.m., arriving about 4 a.m, and he’s usually back home by noon.

He passes the time by listening to the radio and trying to avoid trucks. “I load trucks for a living, but trucks are the worst part of the drive,” Brown said Wednesday.

Why put up with this arrangement?

“I like my employer and I like where I live,” he said.

What’s the difference between living in Yucca Valley and living in Los Angeles?

“Like the difference between heaven and hell,” he said.

Forty-six years ago today in The Times:

A front-page story, headlined “City Hunting for Source of ‘Gas Attack,’ ” told of the sudden appearance of a “smoke nuisance” in downtown Los Angeles.

One city councilman warned that L.A. would become “a deserted village” unless the problem was eliminated.

It didn’t quite work out that way.

A year later, the “smoke nuisance” was being referred to as “smog.”