Fixing the Orange Line

At last night's road-show City Council meeting in the old Van Nuys City Hall, some safety improvements to the Valley busway were announced. They mostly involve slapping car drivers in the face with the news that, hey, there are buses speeding along where only dead train tracks used to sit rusting. New three-foot-square signs announce the busway crossing, signs were lowered to eye level, red lights come on sooner at busway intersections, and no right turns on red are allowed across the busway. One bus will operate with a flashing strobe today as an experiment. Channel 7's website has the roundup.

Also: The four editorial staffers of the San Fernando Valley Business Journal describe their rides on the busway.

And: MTA bus drivers now have to wear seat belts, but some don't like it: "When you're sitting here tied down by a seat belt, anyone can hit you in the face. You're like a sitting duck."