For more than a decade, San Fernando Valley residents and community members had advocated for traffic signals near the Chabad of Sherman Oaks so that pedestrians, including families with young children, could safely cross the street as they walked to the synagogue.
On Friday, Sept. 22, community members joined Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman at a ribbon-cutting to celebrate the recent installation of three traffic signals along busy Ventura Boulevard, including one light in front of the Chabad house.
“Safe and frequent crosswalks support healthy, active communities by offering residents better access to their streets and environment,” Raman said in a statement.
“I’m so thrilled to celebrate the activation of these three newly installed crosswalks in Sherman Oaks,” she said. “The community has long advocated for these improvements, and I am so glad we were able to work with our partners at (the Los Angeles Department of Transportation) to make them a reality.”
Friday’s event took an unexpected turn when a group of Sherman Oaks residents showed up to protest an unrelated 200-unit affordable housing project that a developer has proposed in their neighborhood.
Rabbi Mendel Lipskier said in an interview that community members requested traffic lights over several years due to frequent accidents, including two fatalities. He credited Raman for pushing for the traffic lights after she learned about their requests a year ago.
Pedestrian safety is of particular importance to the community, the rabbi said, since Orthodox Jews do not drive on the Sabbath but walk to the synagogue. In addition, he said, the traffic light in front of the Chabad automatically changes so that an individual won’t have to push an electrical signal at the crosswalk. Orthodox Jews are prohibited from using electricity or electrical devices on the Sabbath.
Since the traffic light in front of the Chabad began operating about two months ago, Lipskier said, traffic…
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