SHERMAN OAKS : Left-Turn Light May Be Installed Soon

A long-awaited left-turn light at Ventura and Van Nuys boulevards may soon be installed, according to an aide to Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky.

Vivian Rescalvo said Wednesday that she was told by an attorney for the developer who will install the light and make other traffic improvements at the Sherman Oaks intersection that the project would likely be finished by the end of this month or in early July.

Rescalvo worked on the issue for Yaroslavsky when he represented the area on the Los Angeles City Council.

Under its agreement with the city, the developer, which owns La Reina Fashion Plaza, has until Jan. 31 to complete the project.

The left-turn signal would serve motorists driving south on Van Nuys Boulevard who want to go east on Ventura Boulevard. Another element of the project is the creation of double left-turn lanes for drivers going east on Ventura who want to go north on Van Nuys.

To accommodate the extra lanes, workers will have to widen the north side of Ventura, west of Van Nuys, for 125 feet.

Residents have long wanted the left-turn light, which they say would alleviate the traffic jam created by cars turning left onto Ventura Boulevard after leaving the Ventura Freeway.

However, the project has been mired in eight years of litigation and controversy. Several years of legal wrangling between the city and developer resulted in an agreement by the developer to do some improvements to soften the traffic effects of La Reina.

Later, some community leaders protested the city transportation department’s proposal to create the double left-turn lanes, saying the widening of Ventura Boulevard would mean that the sidewalk would have to be narrowed. That would detract from the pedestrian-oriented ambience they hoped to create along the boulevard, they said.

A year ago, Yaroslavsky intervened to forge a compromise: The double left-turn lane would be built, but Ventura Boulevard would be widened for 150 feet rather than 580 feet total to the east and west of Van Nuys Boulevard.