By Get past 'the village'
In regards to the hotel/theater debate, I once again notice in letters and articles on the subject, that the word “village” keeps coming up.
I moved to Los Altos in 1971 and back then thought it was amusing that the Town Crier and various residents described Los Altos as a “village”. Maybe in the early days of J. Gilbert Smith Los Altos was a village, but today, no way.
No matter what happens on the Main and First Street property, it won’t destroy “the village” or make “the village” more livable. Los Altos is not a village. It was incorporated as Santa Clara County’s 11th city on Dec. 1, 1952. We have a City Hall and a City Council. We have the Town Crier.
The decision on the Main and First property needs to move past the nostalgic “village” idea. Los Altos needs to grow up and live in the present.
Joy DesaiLos Altos
A totally new vision for our village
If there is one argument that I can find both contingencies using in the debate over the Main/First St. plot of land, it is that everyone desires our community to maintain its’ close-knit, village type feeling. This too is my desire, and that is why I want to suggest a totally new vision for our village.
Last year I spent several months living abroad in Vienna, Austria, and one of my favorite parts of the city was the Kärtnerstrasse. “So what?” you may ask. The Kärtnerstrasse was the most popular street in Vienna for eating, shopping, and socializing. And the only thing that the Kärtnerstrasse did not have that our Main Street does have, is cars.
I believe that if we made the decision to make Main Street into a strictly walking street, we would maintain our desired community feeling. When the pedestrian is favored over the driver, people are more likely to spend more leisurely time downtown. People would socialize more, enjoy shopping more, and would take advantage of the local restaurants that could provide more outside seating in the absence of cars.
What would we do with that controversial plot of land? The land could be used as a parking facility as the city had originally intended.
Additionally, because not everyone is going to be keen on walking through town, the city could set up a small trolley system to run up and down Main Street. The consignment shop could be transformed into a quaint trolley stop/pick-up. By doing away with cars, I believe that Los Altans are more likely to come down town for prolonged visits.
Catherine CabotLos Altos
New pool sorely needed
I take issue with the comments of Gary and Marya Keeth in theMay 9 Town Crier Letters to the Editor regarding the Los Altos Aquatics Center proposed by SPLASH and discussed at the Los Altos City Council meeting on May 8.
The Los Altos Aquatics Center is intended to replace Covington pool, which was demolished as part of the reopening of Covington school. The Aquatics Center will provide the Los Altos community with aquatic facilities for recreation, competition, education and physical therapy.
The project is not a “large regional swimming pool complex” being pushed upon the community by SPLASH. It is, rather, an upgrade to a pre-existing community pool: an upgrade that will replace a crumbling, aging pool with one that meets modern safety standards.
Swimming lessons at the old Covington pool consistently sold out for the past several summers. Last summer, a relatively slow summer at Covington due to difficulty in finding qualified instructors over 600 children, 77 percent of them from Los Altos, received swimming lessons at Covington pool.
Using the classic NIMBY logic that contributes to the ever-increasing traffic problems all over the Bay Area, the Keeths suggest that Los Altans drive to other communities, such as Palo Alto or Cupertino, to fulfill their aquatic needs.
Unfortunately, unless SPLASH is successful, that will be our only choice.
LaNae Avra
Los Altos
