A Southern California horse-keeping community is one step closer to receiving a long-awaited safety improvement for equestrians.
The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday approved more than $400,000 in additional funding for a stalled horse crossing on Sunland Boulevard in Shadow Hills, raising the project’s total budget to $892,500.
Introduced by Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, the motion supplements the $455,500 approved in 2021 for an activated signal that would allow riders to cross Sunland Boulevard at Johanna Avenue.
The crossing has yet to be built. The 2021 motion identified the project as a High-Intensity Activated Crosswalk, or HAWK, beacon signal.
Once installed, the signal would connect the bridle path on the north side of Sunland Boulevard with the trail system to the south, improving access across the Foothills’ horse-keeping communities.
Residents say the intersection has been dangerous for decades. An estimated 70% of people living on the surrounding equestrian-zoned properties own horses.
“We have to be very careful about crossing the roads, because the drivers are way too fast. Some roads we don’t even go on, like Southern Boulevard,”
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horse owner Lisa Salazar told The California Post.
The Los Angeles Department of Transportation said the crossing has already been designed and is ready for installation, but the project needs additional money to move forward.
“While unexpected inflationary construction costs and additional public works requirements doubled the cost of this specific project, we are working with LADOT to include this project in an early 2027 package bid,” Rodriguez said in a statement, according to the news outlet.
The original 2021 funding came from the city’s Equestrian Facilities Trust Fund, which is supported by annual equine license fees paid by Los Angeles riders and dedicated to developing new equestrian facilities. Shadow Hills is one of the city’s horse-keeping communities.
The intersection was placed on the city’s recommended horse-crossing list in 2012. Five years after the initial funding approval, residents say the project’s delay reflects a broader problem.
“The budget was allocated, the work was supposed to be done… at the rate we’re going, that’s going to be another 10, 15 years,” Shadow Hills resident Musheegh Muradyan told ABC News.
Horse owner Vickie Sampson welcomed the additional funding, according to the news outlet. “This is really great news. I should throw my hat up in the air.”