In order to prevent or at least record the continuing car-bus crashes along the Valley Orange Line, the MTA has decided to install cameras at 12 intersections.
Yet one accident prone street will not be included, according to today’s LA Times: “But the list of selected crossings in the San Fernando Valley did not include Kester Avenue in Van Nuys, where two of the seven crashes — including the most recent one — occurred.”
Kester is uniquely dangerous. It is one of the narrowest “Main” streets in the Valley. The Busway on this dilapidated road is hemmed in on four sides by warehouses and industrial buildings, thus obscuring the visibility of automobiles to see oncoming buses. Just south of the Busway are three businesses (auto repair, a liquor store and a recording studio) with front entrance parking lots and cars that continually pull out in reverse–creating a traffic risk for cars proceeding northbound on Kester.
Socially, the street is one of the largest gathering spots for the “trabajador por día” who cross back and forth along Kester, as trucks stop to pull them up for $10 an hour gigs. At night, the street is poorly lit, and north of Erwin, there are pedestrians (who often jaywalk) pushing baby strollers and grocery carts.
This is a poor street in both maintenance and social status. No wonder Kester is forgotten.
Here in Van Nuys 