Charleston Meadows Charleston Meadows (August 20, 2004)

A corridor in transit

by Colleen Corcoran

F or the first part of the ride into Charleston Meadows, along El Camino Real, you move along in fits and starts, dictated by the whim of traffic lights. The smell of hot brakes and the sound of live engines are joined by the neon sight of vacuous Jiffy Lube and Midas garages and by the industrial automotive seas of Hertz and Peninsula Ford.

But then, after abruptly exiting at West Charleston Road, onto Park Boulevard or Wilkie Way, you find yourself wandering the bucolic, tree-lined streets of Charleston Meadows. Birds chirp from above. Irises sway in a gentle breeze.

More than 300 single-family homes-- most built between 1949 and 1953, including the earliest tract of Eichler homes -- share the space south of West Meadow Drive and north of Adobe Creek, bordered on either side by El Camino and Alma Street.

The community's many dead-ends and cul-de-sacs offer more ivy-hung trees and Italian cypresses, basketball hoops and domestic tranquility than do the main thoroughfares.

Roger Kohler, a member of the neighborhood association, has lived there since 1975 and for six years prior during elementary school and junior high.

"It seemed kind of natural for me to move back," he said. "It's a very well-defined neighborhood and so we all kind of relate to each other. It's a very friendly group of people."

His two children, now adults, attended nearby Gunn High School. One son still plays basketball at the expansive Robles Park on Park Boulevard -- a basketball, baseball and swing-set mecca.

Kohler fondly recalls swimming at the Elks Club pool, feeding swans at the Hyatt Rickey's Hotel and eating dinner at Trader Vic's. All are within walking distance of his two-story, wood-panel home, nestled at the dead-end of Wilkie Way next to the unobtrusive Parksquare Apartment complex.

Two doors down lives a couple who has been there for seven years. Next door is another couple who moved there in 1955, when their Eichler home would have been surrounded by fields and foliage. At the same time, many young families have joined the neighborhood.

Most of the original Eichler homes remain intact. Some have been remodeled. Others were torn down and replaced with larger, Mediterranean concoctions.

But, according to Deborah Ju, neighborhood association president and resident of 17 years, "The neighborhood's stayed remarkably the same."

Most residents remain for long periods of time. They form a multi-cultural, family-oriented community described by many as supportive and involved.

"The main strength of the neighborhood is the people themselves," said City Council member LaDoris Cordell. She has lived in Charleston Meadows since 1987.

"It's a fairly close-knit community. It's not a community where you don't know who lives next to you," she said. "People will come together when they think the quality of the neighborhood is being threatened and also to support positive change."

While Charleston Meadows' central streets remain relatively untouched, along the periphery a new neighborhood is emerging.

The Hyatt Rickey's hotel, a fixture on El Camino for 50 years, is expected to be sold and the property likely turned into housing. The Charleston Meadows Neighborhood Association worked with the Hyatt for five years to come up with a mutually acceptable plan, which includes 185 townhouses, row houses and single-family homes.

"The issue brought a lot of people together because we had a common need to review the plans," Kohler said. "Most of us in the neighborhood are sad to see the hotel go."

"Traffic would have been horrible [with a larger project]," Cordell said. "One hundred and eighty-five is doable. It will maintain the quality of life in the neighborhood."

Next door to Rickey's, members of the Elks Lodge are reviewing plans to develop their property. Most likely, housing will be built there, but a decision is yet to be made.

Nearby, on Charleston Road, the city is addressing growing traffic concerns.

"I've watched over the years as things became more and more congested with more and more traffic," Cordell observed.

"[Charleston Road] is pretty unsafe currently," Deborah Ju said. "Charleston is a problem in terms of volume of cars, speed of cars and the lack of a continuous bike lane."

The Charleston-Arastradero Corridor Plan to accommodate traffic was approved by the City Council months ago but lacks funding. According to the plan, Charleston's four lanes will be reduced to three. Medians and a continuous bike lane will be added for safety purposes.

In Charleston Meadows, the trend is towards more housing and traffic, but also decisions that deal with both in order to preserve a high quality of life. Many long-time residents remain. At the same time, young families are moving in. There is a sadness at seeing neighborhood institutions like the Hyatt disappear and dismay due to the infrequent destruction of Eichler homes.

But, as people change and as times change, so do the neighborhoods that surround them.

Charleston Meadows facts Fire station: 3600 Middlefield Road Library: Mitchell Park, 3700 Middlefield Road Post office: Main Post Office, 2085 E. Bayshore Road Parks: Don Secundino Robles Park, 4116 Park Blvd.; Monroe Mini Park (nearby), Monroe Drive and Miller Avenue Pre-school: Heads Ups!, 4251 El Camino Real Public schools: Juana Briones Elementary School, J.L. Stanford Middle School, Gunn High School Shopping: Middlefield Road, Midtown

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