RESIDENTS OBJECT TO NEW TRAFFIC SIGN.

Byline: Daniel Taub Daily News Staff Writer

Irene McGee looks out from her back yard onto Winnetka Avenue just south of Devonshire Street.

It was not a bad view, she said, until Monday afternoon when the city erected a 26-foot-tall sign directing drivers onto Devonshire.

``It just basically looks like it's in my back yard,'' McGee said. ``People say, `What kind of sign did you put up?' and I say it's not my sign.''

Although McGee and her neighbors call the new sign an unnecessary eyesore, Los Angeles Department of Transportation officials say it is needed to avoid accidents at the intersection.

``The purpose of the sign is so that people don't have to make decisions too abruptly and create a hazardous situation,'' said Ray Wellbaum, a transportation engineer at the department's West Valley office.

Wellbaum said the sign was installed as one of the traffic mitigation measures required when Great Western Bank built its corporate headquarters nearby.

But McGee said she does not think there are many accidents at the intersection and that the sign is not only an unsightly, but also a financial liability.

McGee said she has called her appraiser to see what the sign would do to the value of her home.

``They said it drops by $25,000,'' McGee said.

But Jim Sherman, head of the Bureau of Traffic Management, said safety is more important than real estate value.

``If it's matter of safety vs. the appraisal on someone's house, we as the city have to worry about safety,'' Sherman said. ``The liability issue is something we're continually having to deal with on these kind of matters.''

Sherman said engineers usually try to place signs where they are least obstructive to residents whose houses are on the street. In this case, he said, no houses face the street.

``In this particular place, from what I've been told, most of the properties are back-yard and side-yard frontages,'' Sherman said.

McGee is not the only one whose view is affected by the new sign. McGee's neighbor Lenora Brokaw also is unhappy.

``I have a very large picture window. The sign now takes up the entire picture window, whereas before I saw trees,'' Brokaw said.

Brokaw and McGee contacted Councilman Hal Bernson's office after the pole for the signs was installed last week, and his staff has asked the Department of Transportation to see what can be done.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

PHOTO (1) Chatsworth residents Lenora Brokaw, left, andIrene McGee say the traffic sign installed on Winnetka Avenue on Monday ruins their view.

Terri Thuente/Daily News

(2) Transportation officials say the sign will give motorists plenty of notice to turn from Winnetka onto Devonshire Street.

Bob Halvorsen/Daily News