It sometimes takes an unfortunate event to effect positive change.

This was the case in November 2009, when a car struck Yao Lu, a CSUN exchange student, while she was trying to cross Reseda Boulevard at Vincennes Street near campus.   

Although Lu has recovered from her injuries, this harrowing event was enough to spur her friend, Andreas Lazaris, to do something about it.  He approached Councilman Greig Smith’s office last February about installing a traffic signal in the heavily traveled corridor.

Smith represents Chatsworth on the City Council.

The light came to life Thursday.  The process, from proposal to installation, took less than a year.

“This was done quickly,” Smith said.

John Fisher, assistant general manager in charge of transportation operations for the Los Angeles Department of Transportation said the project cost the state about $150,000, with $10,000 coming from city funds.

“We are reacting to unfortunate and preventable accidents,” said Capt. Mark Cronin of the LAPD Valley Traffic Division.

Wayne Adelstein, president of the North Valley Chamber of Commerce expressed relief that a signal is finally in place.  His office faces the intersection.

“This light is a life-saving device,” he said.  “There isn’t a day that doesn’t go by that I or my staff has not heard the screeching of tires,” he added.

Smith said that tragic accidents tend to bring issues into focus.  Two out of three traffic lights installed have been the result of accidents, he said.

Plans to install a traffic signal a few blocks away at the intersection of Reseda Boulevard and Dearborn Street are underway, Smith said.  Installation is anticipated in a year.