Many years ago, we had a tragic accident at the corner of McBean Parkway and Arroyo Park Drive. An SUV with a child in the back seat was hit by an oncoming car making a left turn. The SUV spun into a giant light pole. The child was killed by the impact.
There was a root cause — and one that, left unfixed, would lead to more accidents. The left-turn lanes at that intersection were misaligned. In some situations, cars going north couldn’t see cars turning left — and the left turners couldn’t always see oncoming traffic.
The danger was built into the median’s design.
Back then, I asked Andrew Yi, our public traffic engineer, to come out and take a look. We drove the road together. Andrew saw the problem right away.
No question — more accidents would follow unless we did something.
After some pressure, the city fixed it. They realigned three medians along McBean, from south Valencia through Granary Square. To my knowledge, no major accidents have happened there since.
But there’s still a deadly problem nearby.
McBean was originally built as a two-lane road in each direction, with a right-turn lane. That setup gave room for buses to pull over, for cars to slow down, and for bikes to ride safely. Most importantly, it left a whole lane between the west sidewalk and traffic. Pedestrians could walk safely with a buffer between them and speeding cars.
But about the time Tesoro del Valle was built and our city further grew, the city re-striped McBean to make it three lanes each way — pushing the right lane right up against the sidewalk. That helped car traffic, but it turned McBean into a mini-freeway. At rush hour, vehicles regularly hit 60 mph — and now they’re doing it just inches from moms, dads, kids, dogs, bikes and strollers.
Today, big city buses barrel down McBean just 20 to 24 inches from pedestrians. Cars, too.
These massive machines fly past, just feet — sometimes inches — from disaster. A child wobbles on a bike. A stroller slips off the sidewalk. A kid steps aside to let someone pass. There’s no buffer. No room for error.
Just concrete, metal and speed.
The west sidewalk is too narrow. The traffic is too fast. The space between life and death is too small. Walking McBean today is like walking next to the Interstate 5 freeway — same number of cars, nearly the same speed, and only 24 inches between you and catastrophe.
So, what can we do?
Two clear solutions exist. One costs convenience. The other costs money. Either one will save lives.
Option one: Re-stripe McBean back to two lanes in each direction. It’s cheap, quick and it works. That would restore a buffer zone for bikes, pedestrians and strollers. Sure, traffic would slow a bit — but it would also spread out over time. And lives would be protected.
Option two: Build a low wall along the sidewalk curb. Like those on our bridges, a three-foot pedestrian wall would block traffic from spilling into foot traffic. Done right, it could look great and even beautify the street. And more importantly — it would save lives.
Either way — whether we re-stripe or build a barrier — this problem can be solved. But we must act. The danger is real. And it’s not going away.
I invite our Public Works officials to take a walk down McBean. Start at Valencia. Head past the new Community Center at Summit Park. Keep walking toward Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital. Try it during rush hour. It’s terrifying.
Our Public Works Department is excellent — clean, efficient, and safe. This McBean problem is the exception. But it’s a serious one. And it puts lives at risk.
Mr. Mayor: “Build up a wall!” Or “Tear down a lane!” But above all — do something. Do something, before The Signal must sadly report another heartbreaking tragedy we could have prevented.
Gary Horton’s “Full Speed to Port!” has appeared in The Signal since 2006. The opinions expressed in his column do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Signal or its editorial board.
