New Lights Reflect Neighbors’ Lobbying

Things will be looking a little brighter on Sunland Boulevard from now on.

On Wednesday night, nine new street lights clicked on above the busy northeast Valley thoroughfare.

The lights were installed on the stretch of Sunland between the Golden State Freeway and San Fernando Road and replace three lights that residents and business owners said were too dim.

The area where the lights were installed is part of the Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative (LANI) program, which was established by Mayor Richard Riordan and the City Council last year to improve transportation corridors. Seven LANI areas citywide received $250,000 federal grants to pay for improvements recommended by neighborhood committees.

In addition to the lights, neighborhood initiative funds have paid for two new bus shelters, four stone walls and a general cleanup along Sunland Boulevard, said City Councilman Richard Alarcon, who along with the Sun Valley Neighborhood Improvement Organization lobbied to include the area in the program.

“The lights improve the area in a couple of key ways,” Alarcon said. “They make the street safer for drivers and pedestrians and they help to reduce crime and improve the business climate.”

John Eshbach, co-chair of the neighborhood group, said his organization has plans for several other projects in Sun Valley, including the installation of 30 additional street lights on San Fernando Road between Clybourn Street and Olinda Avenue.

“Nobody wants to walk down a dark street at night. These projects are really pulling the neighborhood together,” Eshbach said. “We know we can make this a nicer place to live and do business.”