A BEECH SIERRA PLT; R DOWNWIND FOR LNDG AT LGB; WAS TOLD TO FOLLOW THE FREEWAY IN ORDER TO CLEAR DEPARTING MD80 TFC. UPON VISUALLY ACQUIRING THE TFC; THE RPTR EXECUTED A R 360 DEG TURN WITHOUT TWR'S PERMISSION.

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ON OCT/XA/99 AT APPROX XA45; I CONTACTED LGB TWR 12 MI W OF THE FIELD FOR LNDG MY BEECH SIERRA C24R. AT THE TIME; I WAS DSNDING OUT OF 3500 FT MSL AFTER HAVING JUST EXITED THE LOS ANGELES SPECIAL FLT RULES AREA. I REQUESTED RWY 25R AND WAS INSTRUCTED TO RPT ON THE '45' FOR A R DOWNWIND. APCHING ABOUT 1 MI FROM THE ARPT; THE TWR CTLR INSTRUCTED ME TO STOP MY DSCNT AND STAY 'E ALONG THE 91 FREEWAY' IN ORDER TO CLEAR JET TFC DEPARTING RWY 30. WHAT I HEARD AND READ BACK IN THE COCKPIT WAS 'REMAIN E OF THE 91 FREEWAY.' BEFORE I COULD GET CLARIFICATION FROM THE TWR CONCERNING THESE INSTRUCTIONS; I ACQUIRED THE DEPARTING JET TFC VISUALLY AND EXECUTED A R 360 DEG TURN TO AVOID A CONFLICT. THIS ACT ON MY PART WAS CONSTRUED BY THE TWR OPERATOR AS NON COMPLIANCE WITH ATC TWR INSTRUCTIONS. 2 ISSUES THAT IMPACT SAFETY WERE AS FOLLOWS: 1) THE TWR OPERATOR'S FAILURE TO CORRECT MY READBACK OF HIS INSTRUCTIONS; AND 2) THE USE OF LANDMARKS AND SURFACE ROADS FOR ISSUING FLT CLRNCS AND INSTRUCTIONS. THE 91 FREEWAY IS NOT ANNOTATED ON THE LOS ANGELES CLASS B VFR TERMINAL AREA CHART. I MET WITH THE TWR SUPVR THE MORNING OF THIS INCIDENT; AND WAS INFORMED; MUCH TO MY SURPRISE; THAT THEY DO NOT ISSUE HDG INSTRUCTIONS TO VFR ACFT. A SIMPLE INSTRUCTION TO CONTINUE 'EBOUND' WOULD HAVE AVOIDED THIS WHOLE SIT. IN ADDITION; THERE SHOULD HAVE BEEN TIME AFTER I CALLED THE TWR FROM 12 MI OUT TO ISSUE INSTRUCTIONS EARLY; WHICH WOULD HAVE ALLOWED ME TIME TO SEEK CLARIFICATION IF NECESSARY. THERE SEEMS TO BE AN ASSUMPTION ON THE PART OF MANY TWR OPERATORS THAT EVERY ACFT ENTERING THEIR CLASS AIRSPACE IS INTIMATELY FAMILIAR WITH LCL LANDMARKS AND SURFACE ROADS. IF THESE ARE GOING TO BE USED IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN ARR AND DEP ACFT SEPARATION; THEY SHOULD BE SHOWN ON ALL AVAILABLE VFR CHARTS! BETTER YET; LCL TWRS WITH POTENTIALLY HIGH DENSITY TFC SHOULD MAKE AVAILABLE TO VFR ACFT SOME PRINTED MATERIAL AND/OR ARPT DIAGRAMS OF WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN ENTERING AND DEPARTING THEIR CLASS D AIRSPACE.