Mother Wins Campaign for Signal at Crosswalk Where Her Son Died : Simi Valley: City Council members approve stoplight at a crossing on Erringer Road. A petition drive gathered 2,000 signatures.

Six weeks after 13-year-old Travis Peterson was struck and killed while biking across a Simi Valley street, city leaders have agreed to install a stoplight at the crosswalk.

After emotional testimony from his mother, Cathy Peterson, and about a dozen other concerned parents, the City Council on Monday approved a signal for the crosswalk, located on Erringer Road midway between Los Angeles and Royal avenues.

The council also agreed to install traffic lights at two other mid-block crosswalks on busy city streets.

Speaking after the meeting, Peterson, a single mother with another young son, said she was relieved and gratified by the council’s decision.

“It’s a victory for the whole city,” Peterson said. “I’m just glad to see that this is happening. Everyone will feel a little safer.”

Since her son’s death, Peterson has spent hundreds of hours monitoring traffic at the crosswalk, counting near-collisions and rallying support among safety-conscious bicyclists and pedestrians.

Meanwhile, neighbors and local merchants collected more than 2,000 signatures on petitions favoring the mid-block signals.

“I did not know Travis, but I am a parent,” Lynne Patmore told the council as she burst into tears. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’m very upset about his.”

A study reviewed by the council showed that of the city’s three busiest mid-block crosswalks, the one where Travis was killed is by far the most heavily traveled, carrying 22,500 cars a day.

The others, on Sycamore Drive and on Tapo Canyon Road, carry 14,000 cars a day each, the study found.

Since the Erringer Road crosswalk was installed in 1985, five injury accidents have been reported there. Travis’ death May 5 was the first fatality.

Councilwoman Sandi Webb said the number of accidents at that site was proof enough that stoplights are needed at the crosswalks.

She urged the council to consider taking money from the city’s reserves to pay for the new signals, which will cost about $40,000 each.

“I don’t care where we get the funds,” Webb said, “I want the damn signals in as fast as we can.”

The crosswalks were installed in the mid-1980s as part of a bike path along the Arroyo Simi drainage channel.

Most of the path runs next to the Arroyo, well away from street traffic. But in several places the path crosses busy city streets. To accommodate bike traffic, the city installed crosswalks. While outfitted with warning signs, the crosswalks are not equipped with traffic lights.

When a pedestrian or bicyclist ventures into the crosswalk, it can be difficult to get all lanes of traffic to stop, Webb said.

“Having these lights in is one extra level of safety,” she said. “I don’t think it’s going to solve all the problems, but it’s a good thing to have in place.”