A switch-on ceremony was held Friday for a long-awaited - and much-needed - traffic signal in the Rancho Cascades area.

The signal, at the intersection of Foothill Boulevard and Yarnell Street, has been under construction for more than a year, according to the Sylmar Neighborhood Council's Web site.

The installation was initially delayed because the original wiring was obsolete and needed to be replaced.

Construction was further delayed because of challenges meeting requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

It appears the signal could not be turned on until there was a crosswalk, which could not be painted until there was a curb cut and ADA-compliant sidewalk.

The signal was required by the developer of Cascades in order to mitigate traffic resulting from the development.

In the next few days, there will be street improvements such as striping and reflector installation at the corner of Yarnell and Foothill.

Posted by Mark Kellam at 9:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Sylmar Neighborhood Council talked about the large number of sex offenders residing in the community during its March 27 meeting.

The Megan's Law Web site lists 157 registrants in the 91342 zip code.

As this was not an agendized item, the board could not take action. However, board members discussed creating an ad-hob committee to look into why so many offenders are moving into Sylmar and what can be done in the future.

In other Sylmar Neighborhood Council news, the council will have a team in this year's Sylmar Relay for Life, to be held April 12 and 13.

Called the Purple Hearts, the team will be captained by Quyen Vo-Ramirez and Fabian Garcia. Team members include Lynn Zekanis, Hector Cabrera, Randall Kelly, Rick Donnelly and Jan Sandstrom.

The event raises funds for the American Cancer Society.

Posted by Mark Kellam at 11:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On the Sylmar Neighborhood Council's Web site, there's an item about a stop signal that's been under construction for more than a year.

The signal, at the intersection of Foothill and Yarnell, has not been activated because the original wiring is obsolete and needs to be replaced.

Construction has been further bogged down because of challenges meeting ADA compliance requirements, said Matt Laufer, neighborhood council board member.

Quoting the Web site brief, "It appears the signal could not be turned on until there was a crosswalk, which could not be painted until there was a curb cut, which could not be done for lack of a curb and ADA compliant sidewalk. The signal was required by the developer of the Cascades in order to mitigate resulting traffic. The City Engineer and the DWP are addressing the non-ADA-compliance issues and the corner will be re-constructed."

Posted by Mark Kellam at 10:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Los Angeles Unified School District held a community meeting on Feb. 20 to discuss a new K-8 school planned on the southeast corner of Bledsoe Street and Dronfield Avenue in Sylmar.

At the meeting, LAUSD officials went over the California Environmental Quality Air requirements for the project and the types of environmental issues to be considered.

The school is planned to serve 750 elementary students in 30 classrooms and 297 middle school students in 11 classrooms.

The preferred location currenty has eight houses on it.

At the next meeting, LAUSD officials will provide initial drawings of the school layout and overall appearance for communtiy feedback.

See the project information on the LAUSD Facilities Web site. To get more information, you may also call Rodolfo Cancinos, with LAUSD, at 213-276-7414.

Posted by Mark Kellam at 10:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Twelve people were recently elected to the Sylmar Neighborhood Council.

Elected to two-year terms were Hector Cabrera, Esteban M. Taberez, Guillermo 'Memo" Reyes, Gene Gatmaitan, Martin Ernest Laufer, Jim Schopper, Fabian Garcia, Hiral Bhakta, Rick Donnelly and Erlin Arellano.

Elected to one-year terms were Nicholas Krall and Saul O. Gonzalez.

Posted by Mark Kellam at 10:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)