By The night a bar was closed for being a bar
Thanksgiving is a time for getting together with and giving thanks for friends and family. In Los Altos, it is also a rare and precious chance for those who have recently moved away to meet up with those they haven’t talked to since high school. The traditional reunion for Generation Xers has taken place the Wednesday night prior to Thanksgiving at the Los Altos Bar & Grill, the only late night establishment in town. This year was no exception.
LABAG was packed and the scene was undeniably noisy. However, the bartenders weren’t frantically pouring drinks, as is typical of college debauchery. For every conversation you had, there were two more you wish you could’ve been involved in. This night was about more than just partying, it was about community.
‘Round about midnight, this unusual gathering was noticed by the Los Altos Police Department. First they sent two cars. Then the Los Altos Fire Department made an appearance. After the firefighters left, a whole crew of officers showed up to close the bar. The official explanation was, “You’re blocking the sidewalk.”
The irony of this explanation was: A) there are no pedestrians to be blocked at 12:30 in the morning and B) the very occasional car which drove by was blocked by the police cars parked in the middle of the road, not by LABAG attendees.
Unlike the fire department which went about their job of checking fire regulations in a congenial manner, the police department was unnecessarily surly and menacing. All people standing within the proximity of the LABAG were threatened to leave immediately or be thrown in jail.
It should be emphasized that, however noisy, this was a very peaceful and unique occurrence in a portion of Los Altos well insulated from residential areas. Additionally, we have always believed bars to be establishments which allow people to congregate, drink and be merry. We believe we were exercising our first amendment right to peaceful assembly.
I urge the town of Los Altos, and especially those in City Hall, to remember the kid in themselves. It can be difficult to feel proud of your hometown when your reunion needs to be celebrated in downtown Palo Alto, or even worse, downtown Mountain View. It looked like the LAFD was ready to join the celebration; perhaps next year the LAPD will too.
Jan Novak, Los AltosChris Nutter, Los AltosChris Bagley, Los AltosJaching Huang, Palo AltoDustin Hoekstra, Los AltosAriane Novak, formerLos Altos residentMike “Cactus” Bagley, seasonal Los Altos resident
Bicyclists ignoring street signs
I am surprised that the population of Los Altos remains in good shape. Every day I see bicyclists ignoring stop signs and red lights and change lanes without signaling.
Also, I see pedestrians ambling across the streets without ever looking at corners and in the middle of the block. The smallest car built will take at least 10 feet to stop at 10 mph.
Not only that - according to the paper, they have organized to fight the terrible drivers that dare to drive on their streets. They need to know that a pedestrian needs only to look and stop and a bicyclist can put his feet down to stop, but cars and trucks don’t stop that easily.
C.A. Cobb(A disgusted car owner)
Concerns over roundabout unresolved
An open letter to the Los Altos City Council:
We would like to express our deep dissatisfaction over the proceedings that took place at the last city council meeting on Nov. 27 concerning the so-called “Loyola Safe Routes to School” project.
We not only strongly oppose the decision of the city council and believe it compromises our safety and well-being, we are even more shocked at the “back-room” process used to reach this decision with no regard to the concerns and input from the neighborhood residents.
We are a group of Los Altos residents living on Berry Avenue and surrounding streets. The first time the majority of our residents were informed about this particular project was the invitation we received for the Nov. 5 meeting, hosted by the Public Works Department. We were surprised to hear that the city had been working on this project for quite sometime and had developed fairly detailed plans without the knowledge and input from the majority of the area residents.
The reaction of the group to the project details presented by the staff was overwhelmingly negative due to a large number of flaws and serious concerns that were apparent in the project. We were assured that our concerns were going to be addressed. We were surprised to find that the presentation by the staff did not address or summarize the list of major concerns that were raised by residents.
The council quickly decided to move forward with the project without addressing any of the issues and concerns raised by the residents.
We have serious concerns that the project as it stands today seriously undermines the safety of the pedestrians and cyclists, especially the children and the elderly. The stated goals of the project are not advanced by the proposed design. The bulk of the measures proposed in the plan speak to improving traffic flow and are contrary to enhanced safety.
There are no case studies presented by the staff of successful deployment of roundabouts that have similar attributes to the one proposed in this project - constricted space, nearby stop signals on one of the outflows, with a mixture of automobiles, pedestrians and cyclists. There are studies that clearly state that small roundabouts are potentially a safety concern for cyclists who must negotiate with cars in the roundabout.
There is general agreement that today there are few students who bike to Loyola and most students are dropped off by car. The main obstacle to that is crossing Foothill Expressway - a serious safety hazard - and not the Berry-Springer intersection or Berry Avenue. The assumption that speeding up traffic flow on the Berry-Springer intersection with the roundabout and widening Berry to allow for bike lanes will promote a significant increase in bicycle and pedestrian traffic to Loyola is simply not the case.
We urge you to reconsider your decision, stop further development on this project and direct the available resources to exploring alternative plans that effectively address the safety concerns with appropriate input from the neighborhood. As our elected representatives, we expect you to be responsive to the voice of the residents.
Walter Huff andLos Altos Citizens Concerned for Safety
‘Carmel of the north’ a thing of the past?
It is disappointing but not surprising to read that Councilman John Moss found the 1950s brick, shake shingles and craftsman style of Mac’s Tea Room “uninviting.” He apparently prefers Los Angeles strip-mall industrial tacky glitz as a suitable replacement which seems to be a replicating theme in Los Altos. This endorsement reflects how the council has succeeded in careful restoration of historic buildings that were once the core of the quaint downtown village. In the 1970s, Los Altos was called “the Carmel of the north” and Mr. Moss should be proud he is continuing the city government tradition of permanently eradicating any comparison.
Lawrence J. Reeves
Los Altos
