By Why all the new paths?

What, indeed, is a path? That is a question that has found a new and original definition by the current Pathways Committee in Los Altos Hills.

At a June council meeting, the current chairperson of the committee announced that his goal is to create a total of 60 miles of new paths in Los Altos Hills. This number astonished many members in the audience, and it was difficult to imagine how this could be done.

At a recent committee meeting, the answer was revealed. Currently there are two types of pathways identified on maps and in the town’s general plan, on-road and off-road. Off-road paths usually connect cul-de-sacs or follow creeksides or ravines.

The on-road paths are parallel to the roadways, ideally separated from the road by five feet, but often because of geography, the paths are just widened shoulders.

People will be allowed to walk literally on the roads - that is, no special provisions are made for walkers by providing separate paths or even shoulders. This accounts for many of the new paths that are indicated on the colored map which has been distributed to the entire town, and will miraculously provide the 60 additional miles of pathways.

One might question if roadways, with traffic of moving vehicles, bicycles, horses, and often parked trucks and cars, are really what is envisioned by most of us who look for safe places to walk.

My thought is that a paved surface that is used by cars is still a road; even if people walk on it, this is not a path.

There will be another study session of the council Aug. 15, at Congregation Beth Am, to which all citizens are invited to voice their concerns. If you are a pathways user and find this latest attempt to dismantle the system an insult to the residents of the town, please come and make your opinion heard.

Ginger Summit, Los Altos Hills Pathways Committee

Council members actually failing goals

Your recent article extolling the accomplishments of the members of the City Council had some glaring omissions.

We remember that one of King Lear’s goals, stated during the last election, was to ,”preserve neighborhood integrity.” Francis La Poll is quoted in your article as having a goal to ,”preserve the character of the neighborhoods.”

When their records are examined, neither seems to be doing very well on these goals. Four different neighborhoods, Los Altos Avenue near El Camino, Loyola Corners, and Berry and Rosita avenues, either have had, or are threatened to have their character and integrity destroyed by the votes of Lear and La Poll.

The residents along Berry Avenue are fighting to preserve as much of their neighborhood as possible. The residents of the Rosita Avenue neighborhood have been forced to take legal action to force the city council to comply with the guidelines of the California Environmental Quality Act.

Placing the proposed large regional aquatic complex at the end of Rosita Avenue will forever alter the character and integrity of the surrounding neighborhood, and will expose all the residents and children who commute to Covington School to unacceptable safety hazards.

Council members Lear and La Poll have chosen to ignore their neighborhood goals while lusting after a free pool that in the long run will be a financial liability to the city.

Roy and Jan PresleyLos Altos

Limit Rosita plan to 1 pool

Although the room was packed with about 40 concerned citizens at the Rosita pool complex business meeting last week, I was surprised there weren’t more.

I don’t live very near the proposed pool complex, but I do know it will impact the surrounding neighborhoods.

The business plan is to fund the pools by bringing in groups from around the Peninsula while only allowing Los Altos families a chance to swim during a token hour and a half window - at dinner time.

(Officials said that family swim-time doesn’t bring in the big bucks.)

A more considerate plan would be to have a single pool plus a wading pool. The costs will be lower and all those groups won’t have to be brought in to cover costs. But as it stands now, Los Altos will have to endure the estimated thousands of car trips zipping through our streets from 5:45 a.m. to 10:15 p.m.

A huge complex for the Bay Area in a residential neighborhood (on a dead-end street at that) is wrong.

Let’s just have one pool and a wading pool, and open it up in the afternoon - all afternoon - for Los Altans.

Laurie ClaireLos Altos

LAH residents should be notified

During the Los Altos Hills town council meeting, July 18, after much public protest over the new town hall proposal, Mayor Bob Fenwick said that these plans were published in the Town Crier in December 2001 and posted in Town Hall. There were no protests then, why now?

In response, we would like to say that when a near neighbor proposed tearing down their home, the neighbors were notified by mail by Town Hall and were told when it would come before the Planning Commission.

In our opinions, the city council has the same obligation to send out written notices to all of the town residents when these plans are being developed so that their input could be considered. This is a very large publicly funded investment!

The “tell them when it is too late or too costly to change” philosophy is not serving the interests of the people who elected them as their representatives. They have an obligation to inform the public in a timely manner.

Incidentally, everyone at the meeting agreed that there is a need for a new town hall.

Lewis and Ann Throop Los Altos Hills

Practical alternative to luxury town hall

I would like to propose an alternative to the luxury town hall proposed for Los Altos Hills. My understanding of our requirements is that we need new office space for town employees, and that we need a large space for public meetings.

To accomplish these goals, I would propose two buildings. The first would be a modest office building, approximately 2,000 square feet, on the current town hall site. The second would be a large building, 7,500-plus square feet, to be built on the Bullis School property.

The latter building would house a full-size gymnasium with a raised stage at one end. It would function as a large meeting hall, a gymnasium, a concert hall, a theater and a ballroom. It would serve both the elementary school and the Los Altos Hills community. It would function to bring our community together.

Lisa Schichtel OrtonLos Altos Hills

Accentuate the

positive in LAH

I propose a new theme song for Los Altos Hills, “Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative.” Many Hills residents are old enough to remember that popular song from the 1940s. Take it to heart.

Los Altos Hills has changed. We’re tired of the same old negative politics. Anger and hostility are not a solution to disagreement. For the past two years we have had an excellent, cooperative council and have made enormous strides to better our town’s infrastructure. We have never had a better town staff, we are improving our roads, our existing paths, our sewer system and are trying to increase the beauty of our streets with underground utilities. Obtaining a building permit is no longer a trial by fire and we are trying to build a town hall that fits the needs of our residents and staff.

I believe our residents want a town where people exhibit courtesy and cooperation.

Candidates for council should be judged on their experience, platform and ability to get along with others who may disagree with them. It’s time to get over this mean, ugly politicking. We all love our town - let’s show it by working for the common good in a POSITIVE way.

P.S.: Yes, our local elementary schools do need money. The only way we can legally get money to them is to vote YES on the school bond measure in the next election - not NO like we did last time.

Charlene GeersLos Altos Hills

Commendation to Los Altos fire and police

On the afternoon of July 15, in response to a 911 call by my wife, in my absence, the fire and Police departments showed concerned for an elderly, invalid woman and her situation.

A water pipe had burst in the back bathroom, flooding that area, the back hall and the back bedroom.

The firemen demonstrated their ability, in the way they pumped out the flood water, removed the damaged carpet and padding from a portion of the bedroom, thus averting greater water damage.

The police were first on the scene and were most reassuring with good advice and direction.

To all of you, our thanks.

Joe and Jane SprattLos Altos

Stop squeezing in development

It seems to me that the city council and staff have graduated from the school of planning by shoe-horning good ideas into spaces that are too small.

The latest plan to build a movie theater and share a parking lot with Bandera doesn’t fit any better than a roundabout at Springer and Berry avenues, a boutique hotel at First and Main streets or a tiny affordable condominium anywhere they can.

Wasting time and money to plan a project that will not work seems foolish.

Theaters can, and do, share parking lots with daytime businesses, not evening-only restaurants.

Joel Goldfus

Los Altos