Wednesday June 26 Party: Free Ice Cream!!!!!!!

Kids and grown-ups had a blast at the neighborhood Easter Egg hunt (see photo above). So now we're going to celebrate the arrival of summer at the Werry Park Re-Opening Party, Wednesday, June 26, from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m.

Mayor Vic Ojakian and other city officials will join us for a dedication ceremony and ice cream social. Come see the improvements: new grass and a new play structure, not to mention new benches, new water fountains, new irrigation, and new garbage cans!

Werry Park is on Dartmouth between Stanford and College. Bring a picnic and join the fun next Wednesday!

8th Wonder of the World?

Don't panic! That huge pile of dirt at the construction site at 2475 Hanover isn't here to stay. Although we've been promised earth berms to soften the new office building's impact, this pile is something else. It is backfill dirt that will go back into that gaping hole once the basement walls are poured and the forms are stripped.

For all you sidewalk superintendents who want the real scoop (no pun intended) on the building-to-be and its construction, check the Web at: www.stanfordmanage.org/2475/overview.html

There you'll find complete descriptive information and photos, plus an updated listing of construction activity. If you have questions or concerns, please contact Paul Garrett, CTRA Research Park Observer at 494-1293.

CTRA ROCS is a new effort to raise disaster planning awareness and get College Terrace residents talking about ways to become self-sufficient in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, such as the inevitable Big One.

R.O.C.S. is an acronym for Resources, Outreach, Communication, and Supplies. You'll be hearing more about the program at upcoming meetings and gatherings. Be sure to visit the CTRA ROCS table at the Labor Day picnic!

As a first step, CTRA will be providing a resource list: handouts for dissemination to all residents.

CTRA's next step is to try to prepare a directory of CTRA residents with special skills or special needs. The goal is for the neighborhood to be as self-sufficient as possible in the immediate aftermath (e.g., first 72 hours) of a disaster.

People with special skills could include contractors, dentists, doctors, electricians, ham radio operators, nurses, plumbers, veterinarians, and so on. This contact information will NOT be posted on the CTRA website, or widely disseminated. Instead, this information will be made available only to CTRA board members, block coordinators, and PANDA (Palo Alto Neighborhood Disaster Activities) people for use in a severe emergency in which outside support is temporarily unavailable.

People with special needs could include residents who are disabled or have medical conditions dependent upon electrical power.

If you fit into either category (special skills/special needs), or would like to become more involved with neighborhood emergency preparedness planning, please contact Paul Lomio at plomio@stanford.edu or 857-1383.

Mark your calendars: On Saturday, July 27, we'll walk to see the Sunset magazine Palo Alto Idea House in Professorville. (To learn more about this house, walk down our library and turn to page 58 of Sunset magazine's June issue.)

And then on Tuesday, August 6, join board members for a walk to Bol Park for a folk rock concert. Bring a picnic, if you'd like, and College Terrace Walks! will provide a delicious dessert. This will be a nice opportunity to meet some of our Barron Park neighbors too.

For details about joining the fun, contact Paul Lomio (plomio@stanford.edu) or Nancy Lowe (857-0676).

Note: Veteran CTWalks! members should also contact Paul with their e-mail addresses, because a hard drive crash destroyed all his e-mail lists.

Rather than rent a special tool (for half the price of a new one sometimes), here is a new approach:

Paul Garrett has bought a HIGH PRESSURE WASHER and offers it for use in the neighborhood to wash mildew off decks and fences, clean masonry, and clean out rain gutters, among other things. It is electric and easy to use even though it sprays at 1400psi. Paul will collect ten dollars for your first use until the remaining $120 cost is covered. Then it will be free to all users. Paul and Victoria Colligan have paid their $10 so only twelve more users are needed. Contact Paul at: pnjgarrett@earthlink.net or 494-1293.

Paul also found a WOODEN ORCHARD LADDER used by the pros. He cut it down from 14 feet to 11 feet so it could be carried by one person. It is very sturdy with a hinged pole, which forms a tripod with the now 3-feet-wide base (it was 5' before the trimming). This only cost him $25 so it is free for use by the neighborhood if you can transport it and return it, all at your own liability.

Check out our website at www.ctra.org or look for the CTRA notebook in the College Terrace Library.

It's easy! Just send a blank message to CTRAnews-subscribe@yahoogroups.com and you will receive neighborhood news updates a couple times a month.

Thank you to all who have contributed recently to CTRA. Since March 31, the group has received $360 in voluntary membership dues and donations, about even with our expenses. Anyone 18 or older who lives in College Terrace is automatically a CTRA member but if you'd like to contribute, please send a check (suggested amount $20), payable to College Terrace Residents' Association to the following address: CTRA, c/o Paula Sandas, Treasurer, 2140 Columbia Street, Palo Alto, CA. Please include your name, address, email, and phone.

Here's a quick refresher on the history of this issue: On December 12, 2000, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors approved Stanford's General Use Permit (GUP) and Community Plan, allowing the University to construct approximately 5 million square feet (including housing) over the next ten years. In exchange, Stanford agreed to meet certain conditions, including the creation, development and maintenance of easements for the portion of two trails that cross Stanford land.

The supervisors narrowed the choices in April when they asked their staff to provide an environmental review of a select number of alternatives by August. Supervisor Liz Kniss is staying closely involved in the proceedings, as Stanford and community groups work toward a solution.

The CTRA board of directors continues to support efforts that would provide a `win-win' solution.

Our neighborhood has participated in helping to define alternatives for the trail supporting a route North of Page Mill expressway that would provide:

We believe that with goodwill on all sides a mutually agreeable solution can be reached that will be acceptable to the University as well as offset the impact of campus development on our neighborhood.

We will continue to monitor the Stanford Trail developments so stay tuned! and post information on our website (www.ctra.org) so stay tuned.

Did you know young trees grow up to 50 percent faster when they receive regular summer watering?

Canopy is organizing volunteers to check the health of young trees and leave information for residents, encouraging them to care for their trees.

The group will be looking at newly planted trees throughout Palo Alto, but we would welcome volunteers for College Terrace. Survey your area and get to know your neighbors!

Training will be provided at a session led by Dave Sandage, City Arborist with Palo Alto's Department of Public Works on Thursday, June 27, 2002, 5:30 to 7:30 PM, at the home of Susan Rosenberg, 1425 Stanford Avenue.

A group of College Terrace neighbors are trying to do just that. With a common technology called Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity), it is possible to create a computer network that works with radio waves. Wi-Fi can be faster and cheaper than typical DSL to the home.

College Terrace is an ideal neighborhood for a Wi-Fi network, as it's compact, making it easy for users to get online quickly.

A group of volunteers is setting up the network as a non-profit cooperative that will share the costs among its users. The goal is to provide broadband users throughout the entire neighborhood with data rates of 5-8 megabits per second (Fast!). The network is also being set up to allow free use (with registration) at slower dial-up speeds. (You may need to add some minor connection hardware to make this work.)

The first part of the network is already running on upper College Avenue (see lighter area in graphic). All the co-op needs is for more households to subscribe and install a wireless node (about $130) to act as a computer access point and repeater. The cost for broadband users is expected to be $20/month, declining as more residences come aboard to share the costs.

If you would like to learn more, please see www.collegeterrace.net for details and contact information.

To see firsthand how the system works, come to the shindig in Werry Park on June 26 where members of the Co-op will be demonstrating the wireless network.

A special planning team has just started a study of the Palo Alto portion of El Camino Real that could make the thoroughfare more people-friendly. The report will be the first of its kind in California and may provide a blueprint for redesigning many major roads throughout the state.

Some background: El Camino is a state highway that is controlled by Caltrans which historically has focused on vehicle movement. In this study, however, Caltrans and others are looking at accommodating people (walkers, bicyclists, and handicapped persons as well as motorists). And it will consider "urban form" (buildings, setbacks, trees, parking, businesses, and sidewalk dimensions and uses, among other needs). This flows from new federal policies requiring accommodation of nonmotorized users.

The bottom line: Palo Alto's study may become a statewide model for rethinking major urban streets that are state highways.

The study is being conducted by a team of consultants, city and Caltrans staff, and other professionals. An Advisory Group of over 15 neighborhood representatives and advocates serves as a sounding board; John Ciccarelli represents College Terrace, Kathy Durham advises on school commute safety issues and Susan Rosenberg represents the Canopy organization.

The consultants created several alternative cross sections for each distinct segment of El Camino between Menlo Park and Mountain View. Wherever traffic analysis found that six lanes are not required for vehicles, the sketches reserve more width for medians, trees, bicycles, and sidewalks. Other changes look to make crossings safer, for example at Stanford Avenue. These concepts were unveiled for Palo Alto residents at a public meeting on
June 1. For more information see www.city.palo-alto.ca.us/manager/20020614/weeklymemo.html.

Your comments and questions about this effort to transform the "front yard" of College Terrace are welcome ( john@bicyclesolutions.com or 494-9140).

Do you feel that College Terrace is a special place? I have always felt this way, but this past year, as we have made the transition to an elected board of directors working in conjunction with a widening group of volunteers, I've been reminded just how special the people who live here are.

Whether the task is delivering this newsletter, bringing a special potluck dish to one of our picnics or diligently recording partial license plate data for our baseline traffic study, dozens of College Terrace residents have stepped forward to help. And others have shared special skills or taken on significant responsibilities as elected officers or members of the Traffic Study Advisory Group. Leaders from other neighborhoods are amazed at all the energy and activity in our little corner of the world. And I am truly grateful for all the support we have received from so many residents.

Now that the city is making a real effort to involve neighborhood groups in policy discussions earlier, there are more opportunities than ever for you to get involved. Even if your other life responsibilities mean that only a "one shot" task or a small ongoing commitment is possible, you can make a real difference to what your dedicated CTRA board of directors is able to accomplish.

We welcome your suggestions as well. Find out the date and place for the next board meeting or let the board members know your concerns and ideas by sending a message to board@ctra.org or calling me at 493-2623. Or just speak to one of the CTRA officers at Wednesday's ice cream social!

Views from the Terrace is a quarterly newsletter produced by the College Terrace Residents Association.

Questions, comments, and news ideas are welcome. Please contact Jonathan Rabinovitz, 565-8268,
jonadrabi@yahoo.com