Street Renamed to Ease Emergency Crews’ Access
Responding to residents’ complaints, the Los Angeles City Council voted this week to rename a short segment of Van Nuys Boulevard in the northeast San Fernando Valley.
Residents requested the change in July 1997, saying emergency and business vehicles sometimes had trouble finding the 4,500-foot strip, which will now be known as Terra Vista Way. It sits near the end of Van Nuys Boulevard, but is detached from the north-south thoroughfare.
“I think it’s going to be a much safer area, because now emergency vehicles can find it,” said J. Frederick Huckvale, a property owner who led the drive.
The residents’ 1997 petition also cited concerns about property values linked to the Van Nuys name.
“Real estate brokers have reported that homes in this section of Van Nuys Boulevard sell for less than others in the area because buyers are put off by the name of the street, associating the name with the commercial and high-traffic characteristics of the street and the crime that unfortunately occurs frequently,” residents wrote to then-councilman Richard Alarcon.
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