Roundabouts death traps
I'm responding to an article in the April 4 Weekly titled "A 360-degree traffic solution?" It talks about the city of Palo Alto considering modern roundabout intersections as a solution for speeding and traffic congestion on our streets. I've driven a significant amount of time in Europe, and I'm aware that these things are death traps, and I'm adamantly opposed to the city of Palo Alto considering putting roundabouts anywhere in the city.
Jim Smith Palo Alto Cowper Street
Film addresses issues
On Monday, April 14, at 7:30 p.m., "Taken for a Ride," a film by Jim Klein and Martha Olson will be shown at the First Presbyterian Church in Palo Alto. It is a story about how things got the way there are. Why sitting in exhaust-filled traffic lanes seems natural, why our public transportation is the worst in the industrialized world and why we rationalize that the way to relieve our traffic problems is to pave over more land and invite in more cars.
The film will directly impact the thinking which many Palo Altans are going through regarding the Sand Hill-Ohlone Field projects.
Barbara Dawson Grassroots Democracy Cowper Street, Palo Alto
A place for bikes
I agree 100 percent with the letter from Pria Graves in the Palo Alto Weekly (Spectrum, April 2) regarding bicycle parking (at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation). Six or more bicycles can fit in the same space as one car. With the wonderful weather that Palo Alto enjoys, bicycle riding should be encouraged as much as possible, not only to cut down on noise and chemical pollution, but also to promote a healthy lifestyle.
Another reason for bicycle parking near the entrance (of Medical Foundation) is that bicycles and their equipment are more vulnerable to theft than cars.
Kent Price San Antonio Road, Palo Alto price.kent@ssd.loral.com
Ease up, parents
Shame on all you parents who ran along side, and sometimes ahead of your children at the Hippity Hop Easter egg hunt at Rinconada Park. One wonders not only what kind of an example you are setting for your kids, but also if it is by cheating you have gotten to where you are today. I hope not. To the egg hunt planners: Next year, try putting the parents in the corral, and let the pre-schoolers wait outside. A 3- or 4-year-old would actually be able to handle it.
Katja Broddesson Waverley Street, Palo Alto
Goodbye
You are loved.
You will be sorely missed.
Godspeed, Michal Anne Plume A parent Cowper Street, Palo Alto MPlume@compuserve.com
Humanity recognized
I think Mary Tusa, who wrote the letter about the death of Dedric (Spectrum, April 2), deserves a medal for her humanity. Her obvious affection and concern for a young man who others saw only as a hoodlum is in sharp contrast to, let's say, the recent snotty indifference to the humanness of the poor and homeless who make the mistake of lining our streets. They, too, have a story, just as Dedric did. If we lose our ability to see all people as part of the same human family--deserving of our kindness, care, understanding and acceptance--then ours will be a cold world. No, Dedric was not a saint. He was, after all, robbing a house when he was shot. But he started out as a baby, with hope, with possibility. That he lost it along the way is very, very sad. For all of us. Thank you, Mary, for taking the time to write for Dedric.
Megan McCaslin Edgewood Drive, Palo Alto mcyank@wenet.net
He showed common sense
Gary Fazzino deserves a lot of credit for being the only Palo Alto City Council member to stand up for the Sand Hill housing alternative that makes sense--moving it closer to the urban center. It's too bad that it won't be until a decade from now, when the new housing is filled with people who don't work for Stanford and who will be heavy auto users because Stanford hasn't provided any usable transit alternatives, and they're living too far from downtown and the transit center to walk, that we'll see we should have followed the recommendations of the Planning Commission, Gary's lead, and common sense. L. Peter Deutsch Santa Margarita Avenue, Menlo Park lpd@aladdin.com
Hats off to Fazzino
Hats off to Gary Fazzino for opposing the location of the Stanford West housing on Ohlone Field. He is absolutely right to remind us that when this location was zoned to permit housing construction over 30 years ago, no one was worried about traffic or air pollution. Linda Wheeler Hobart Street, Menlo Park
What market-rate really means
Yes to the Sand Hill Road extension and widening for traffic flow. Yes to Stanford Shopping Center's expansion for utilitarian stores. (The exclusive stores are already there.)
No to proposed market-value Stanford Housing at Sand Hill Road. "Market value" is code word for high-priced. This is a desirable, high-priced area. Stanford low-cost housing dream of the '80s is no longer the case. Few, if any, financially challenged Stanford staff or senior citizens need apply. Too few financially enriched would be served to justify wrecking the environment and increasing traffic. Joann George Cowper Court, Palo Alto JoannG444@aol.com
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