VALLEY BENEFITS FROM DEPUTIES ON MTA PATROLS.

Byline: Rachel Uranga Staff Writer

The opening of a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department substation has added more than 70 hours of extra patrol time a week to the San Fernando Valley, MTA and sheriff's officials said at Saturday's ribbon-cutting ceremony and safety fair.

Moreover, more than a year after prevailing over the three-year bus and subway patrol contract previously held by the Los Angeles Police Department, the Sheriff's Department increased transit patrol in the Valley - from a one-car patrol for the area's 200,000 daily bus riders to about four at any given time.

``This puts us in the middle of the community and makes us more accessible,'' said Sgt. David Willard, the area's supervisor. ``Before, we were coming out of downtown Los Angeles, losing 45 minutes coming to the Valley.''

Last year, 23 deputies began patrolling the bus and subway system in the Valley after the Sheriff's Department gained a $47.2 million contract from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

At the time, the contract was viewed as a political blow to Mayor James Hahn, who had depended on the LAPD's five-year contract with MTA to cover a $7 million gap in the city budget.

In February, the Sheriff's Department opened the substation - the only sheriff's station in the Valley - on the corner of Topanga Canyon Boulevard and Marilla Street, on the same lot as the MTA's district office.

``Having them in such proximity reduces the crime factor,'' said Councilman Dennis Zine, a former LAPD officer and current reserve officer.

MTA and sheriff's employees share a 3,000-square-foot office that the MTA leases for $18,000 a year.

``Here, we have been able to talk directly (to the MTA),'' said Lt. Patrick Jordan, adding that this has been helpful in targeting vandals at schools and creating outreach programs.

The parking lot at the new sheriff's substation was festooned with balloons Saturday, for the official opening and a community safety fair.

The event also showcased MTA's 3-D reality-ride show, the ``Metro Experience,'' that warns of the danger of lingering on train and subway tracks.

``It was the best thing here,'' said 7-year-old Diana Inouye, a Canoga Park resident attending the safety fair Saturday with her father, Richard Inouye.

Rachel Uranga, [phone]

rachel.uranga(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) Canoga Park resident Richard Inouye sits with his 7-year-old daughter, Diana, to see a three-dimensional film Saturday at the transit safety event celebrating the opening of the sheriff's new Metro San Fernando Valley station.

(2) Max Vargas, 2 1/2, of West Hills is held up by his mom, Lisa, to pet P.C., a horse in the sheriff's posse owned by sheriff's posse volunteer K.C. Swanson.

Joel Lugavere/Special to the Daily News