BUSY INTERSECTION GETS IQ UPGRADE; PEDESTRIAN INJURIES SPUR NEW SYSTEM.

Byline: David Bloom Daily News Staff Writer

A Sun Valley intersection that was the site of a horrific hit-and-run accident last fall became the home Tuesday to Los Angeles', perhaps even the country's, first ``smart crosswalk.''

Juana de la Cruz Mercado and her 10-month-old daughter, Leslie de la Cruz, were crossing Lankershim Boulevard near their Arminta Street home Oct. 16 when they were hit by a sport-utility vehicle that dragged the girl nearly a block. The two survived the crash, but the driver, off-duty Los Angeles Police Department Officer Bryce Wicks, committed suicide soon after.

City officials searched for ways to fix the site, where other pedestrians had been hit before the de la Cruzes. It made little sense to install a stoplight, because lights were already in place a block south and north of the intersection.

Instead, the city Department of Transportation rigged up electronic sensors, like those used to automatically open grocery-store doors, to detect when pedestrians are trying to cross the busy street.

When tripped, the sensors activate flashing yellow lights about 300 feet up Lankershim in both directions, warning cars that pedestrians are in the crosswalk ahead. Additional warning signs without lights are about 500 feet from the intersection.

Because the lights activate only while someone is in the crosswalk, city officials hope they will be noticed more by drivers, who often ignore signs with no lights, or lights that are always flashing.

``We hope we've created a way to make the most dangerous intersections a little safer,'' said City Councilman Richard Alarcon.

A full-fledged traffic light system costs $75,000 to $100,000 to construct, and could take a year to get through the approvals and hearings required under state law. By contrast, the smart crosswalks cost between $20,000 and $30,000, and the Lankershim system took only five months to install.

``Hopefully, this will allow us to spread our safety budget around a little more,'' said Tom Conner, Los Angeles Department of Transportation general manager.

LADOT will continue experimenting with the new approach, and plans to install about 10 such crosswalks for testing, Conner said.

The need for better traffic controls, and more alert pedestrians, is big. The LAPD's Valley Traffic Division set a record in 1997, writing more than 118,000 traffic tickets, up from 1996's 102,000 citations, said Sgt. Bill Bowen.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos, box

PHOTO (1) Juana de la Cruz Mercado shows scars on the back of her daughter who was dragged by a vehicle while crossing Lankershim Boulevard in Sun Valley in October.

(2) On Tuesday, Councilman Richard Alarcon and kids from Arminta Street Elementary School cross Lankershim Boulevard at Arminta, the site of a new ``smart crosswalk.''

Myung J. Chun/Daily News

Box: Crosswalk warning system