At a dedication ceremony last Thursday, Westside Waldorf School board vice chair Jeff Beall ceremoniously flipped on the switch to the approximate $630,000 traffic signal at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Los Liones Drive. ’About six years ago, when the vision to create a school here at the site of the [former] Santa Ynez Inn was first brought to light, the folks running the school had no idea that they were also walking into a neighborhood campaign for a traffic signal here that had been going on for at least 25 years,’ Beall said. ‘With open hearts and nothing but the desire to be good neighbors in our new neighborhood, the school agreed to take on the responsibility to install this traffic signal as a condition to receive its permanent certificate of occupancy [an authorization by the city to allow the school to operate at that location].’ ’While well-intended, this open-ended commitment was not well understood at the time it was made,’ Beall continued, noting that to install the signal, the school was required to construct new curbs and sidewalks and install additional street lighting along Sunset. Also, the contractor, Flatiron Construction, encountered unforeseen problems during construction. The initial $350,000 cost estimate practically doubled. ’It’s plain to see that this was a much more complex undertaking than anyone knew and as everyone here today knows, it also took us a lot longer than anyone expected for the job to be completed,’ Beall said. ‘But we did it, and we are now very happy as we look forward to being members of the Pacific Palisades community for a long, long time to come.’ Waldorf raised $480,000 for the traffic signal, while the Getty Villa Community Relations Committee contributed $150,000. L.A. City Councilman Bill Rosendahl offered to pay $50,000 for the signal in 2007, and on June 14, he reaffirmed that commitment, telling the Palisadian-Post: ‘I’ll have to find the money. My word is good. The school doesn’t need to be burdened.’ However, when contacted about his pledge on Monday, Rosendahl said, ‘I apologize if I misrepresented myself to your paper.’ He continued that in actuality, the city is not in a financial position to contribute toward the signal. ’It was a different day, a different set of circumstances when I made that offer,’ Rosendahl said, noting that the city has since instituted furlough days, terminated employees and cut basic services. ‘At this point, the money doesn’t exist.’ Norman Kulla, northern district director for Rosendahl, further explained that the city was required to spend the $50,000 in 2007, and Waldorf School officials were not able to raise their portion of the funds for the signal at that time. However, ‘the money went for the benefit of the Palisades community,’ Kulla said, noting it was redirected toward a $400,000 bulkhead on Paseo Miramar. At Thursday’s ceremony, Rosendahl congratulated the Waldorf School, saying that the new light makes the intersection safer for students and parents alike. He presented Beall and Waldorf’s academic director Gina Labrentz with a certificate of appreciation. ’It took real leadership from the board of trustees to say we are going to make it happen,’ Rosendahl said. ‘I want to thank you on behalf of everybody in this district.’ In turn, Beall expressed his appreciation for Rosendahl’s staff. ‘They helped us behind the scenes time and time again. They all did a great deal to help keep the project moving forward whenever it got bogged down in one city department or another.’ In addition, he acknowledged Waldorf’s parents and grandparents who volunteered on the project, including Michael Kapland, Stan Chiu, George Bryson and Paul Livadary. Beall thanked the Getty Trust for its generous contribution, and Rosendahl gave Stephen Clark, general counsel and vice president of the Getty Trust, a certificate. ’The fact that you came up with $150,000, which helped spur this forward, is a huge plus to all of us,’ Rosendahl said, noting that the Getty Villa has been a good neighbor, working amicably with the neighbors through its Community Relations Committee. Beall noted that the new traffic signal ‘will lead to a safer intersection for everyone ‘ and also to easier left turns onto Sunset for all our friends who live up the hill there [in Castellammare].’ Brian Gallagher, senior transportation engineer for the L.A. Department of Transportation, added that the light is also beneficial to L.A. Fire Station 23, located across the street from the school. ’They have a button inside the fire station that’s connected to this signal, so that when they need to get the fire trucks out in an emergency, it will stop the traffic on Sunset,’ Gallagher said. ‘That means they can get out right away without having to worry about traffic backed up in front of them or cars coming too fast around the curve.’
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