College Terrace Residents' Association Quarterly March 2003
Views From the Terrace
2475 Hanover Nearly Complete
By Paul Garrett
CTRA Research Park Observer
The latest addition to the research park is not the eyesore that some residents had feared when it was first proposed a few years ago: It actually looks pretty good!
In what could be a model for future developments, the College Terrace Residents Association worked closely with Stanford Management Company on the exterior design for the new building on the corner of California and Hanover. As a result, residents' concerns about its ruining the view down Harvard were met with an extended earth berm and a bigger retaining wall. To discourage additional traffic on California, the building has no exits onto that street. A walkway was included to encourage traveling by foot to the commercial district. And the landscaping has potential to be very pleasant, providing a natural screen for neighbors, as well as limiting lighting spillover and glass reflections.
To judge it for yourself, take a walk around the building during nonbusiness hours.
Save the Date! Picnic, Egg Hunt 4/19
The neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt will be at Cameron Park on Wellesley. Just bring a potluck dish, friends, family, and yourself! Stay tuned for more details.
March 15 Annual Meeting For CTRA
Our annual neighborhood meeting will be Saturday, March 15, at Escondido Elementary School, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:15 p.m. The agenda includes:
· election of officers for 2003-04
· brief discussion of the "State of the Terrace”"/p>
· Mayor Dena Mossar, who will discuss the challenges facing the city, and respond to questions.
But wait, there's more! Fresh bagels, juice and coffee will be available at 9:30, along with an information fair. There will be information tables on disaster preparedness, the College Terrace Traffic Committee, College Terrace Walks!, and Trees for El Camino and more! (Sorry, no duct tape available!)
Candidates for CTRA board positions were chosen by the nominating committee as specified in our bylaws. See the list at the bottom of this newsletter. Additional nominations may be made at the meeting itself.
El Camino Real Plans To Be Presented
The above photo shows what the intersection of El Camino and Stanford might look like in the future if the city moves forward with plans to redesign El Camino Real as a "multimodal" roadway - one that can handle the projected auto and truck traffic while also offering improved safety for pedestrians and cyclists.
Several people from College Terrace have served on the study advisory group that has been working with a team of consultants and city staff. Together they are trying to make certain that all stakeholders, including residents of neighborhoods adjacent to El Camino, are represented as all alternatives are considered.
The Planning and Transportation Commission is scheduled to discuss the proposed redesign on Wednesday, March 12. The staff report will recommend a three-phase implementation plan, ensuring that each phase is evaluated and funding is obtained before proceeding. Here's a quick breakdown of how the work on the project may proceed:
Phase 1 would restripe El Camino with six lanes and bike lanes, better coordinate the road's traffic signals to encourage steady, safer speeds, and improve one or two key intersections - perhaps Stanford and El Camino - used by pedestrians and cyclists. It would take roughly six to nine months.
Phase 2 would make permanent improvements to the median, curbs, sidewalks and trees on a 6-lane segment of El Camino. It may also test one or two 4- or 5-lane segments using temporary curb extensions and median changes to ensure that both safety and smooth traffic flow are achievable. It would take 18 months to 2 years.
Phase 3 would permanently improve the full length of El Camino based on the results of Phase 2. It is projected to take roughly three years.
Already the city has allocated $1.5 million for tree planting on El Camino, and additional private fundraising has begun. A ceremonial first planting has already occurred, with a wider-scale planting scheduled for this fall.
For more information, visit the city's website: http://www.cityofpaloalto.org/elcaminoreal/index.html
Flowers on Stanford Ave.
Look for wildflowers to be blooming on Stanford Ave, across from Wellesley, where there used to be the construction parking lot for the new developments in Escondido Village. The University has removed the lot and planted the wildflower mix that is used elsewhere on campus.
Photo Exhibition
Marie-Jo Mont-Reynaud, a Terrace resident and a senior at the Menlo School, has a photo exhibition of rural Haiti, through March 7, at Spieker Ballroom, 50 Valparaiso, Atherton. The exhibit is a fundraiser for the development agency "People to People." A $10 donation is suggested.
Join Our E-News List
It's easy to be in the know! Just send a blank message to CTRAnews@yahoogroups.com and you will receive neighborhood news updates and headlines that make you smile a couple times a month.
BE PREPARED
Emergency preparedness experts advise that local residents be ready to be self-sufficient for 100 hours in the case of a major earthquake, severe flooding, or some other large-scale disaster. There is no time like the present to be prepared, and the CTRA is working to provide the neighborhood with a support network.
What can you do?
Make preparations for yourself and your family. Resources on family disaster plans and emergency supplies are available at: www.redcross.org and www.mimi.com/mra/emerprep/emerprep.htm
Consider getting the emergency preparedness training, known as PANDA. The Palo Alto Office of Emergency Services conducts regular courses to train residents in light search and rescue, fire suppression, and other disaster preparedness skills.
Fill out the survey in this newsletter, and become a part of CTRA's emergency preparedness initiative. We will be investigating how neighbors can help each other in the event of a disaster. To get information about our efforts and to participate, contact Margaret Miller, margt@BumbleBB.com, 856-2373.
College Terrace Walks!
On Saturday, March 29, Jerry Hearn will lead us on another walk to "The Dish." Jerry is on Stanford's foothills advisory committee and is also board president of Acterra . All are welcome to enjoy the view, the exercise, and his vision for our big hilly back yard. We'll gather at the gate at the head of
Stanford Avenue at 10:00 a.m.
On Saturday, April 12, Terrace resident Bette Kiernan, a Jungian oriented psychotherapist, will lead "a walk into the invisible world." She'll help us use images from nature, found objects, and synchrocities to contemplate the realms of imagination.
On Saturday, April 19, we'll travel the Stanford back roads to reach what might be the world's oldest continuing garage sale, with lots of good stuff, at The This and That Shop, run by the Charter Auxiliary to the Lucile Salter Packard Children's Hospital.
For more info, including times and locations, stop by the College Terrace Walks! table at the March 15 annual meeting, send e-mail to plomio@stanford.edu or call Nancy Lowe at 857-0676.
AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR PRESIDENT
What difference does a year make? There have been many times since I first got involved in Stanford Avenue traffic issues in 1987-88 that progress has seemed glacial at best. But this year I have been energized by a “small but committed group of people” who may not have changed the world (yet) but who have collectively begun to make a difference in our corner of the world.
Example: Thanks to the vision of John Ciccarelli, and the patient lobbying efforts of several members of the CTRA board of directors, the “spine road” from Hanover to El Camino Real in the middle of the Research Park superblock is no longer a pipe dream. This proposal to re-route service vehicles away from California Avenue is now being incorporated into the plans for future redevelopment of the area.
Example: Thanks to the advocacy of Maritza Frankfurt, the renovations of Werry Park that began so inauspiciously have resulted in a more accessible and more recreationally usable spot that is also more beautiful.
Example: Thanks in no small part to patient behind the scenes work of Paul Lomio, data for our baseline neighborhood traffic study was collected last spring on the volume and speed of cars, plus the amount of cut-through traffic on our streets. We hope that by May, city transportation staff will be able to present a fairly complete picture of this data, as well as some alternative solutions, at a community meeting.
Although John, Maritza, and Paul are not the only members of the CTRA board of directors who have made significant contributions this year, these three will be stepping down at the end of March to resume “normal” life after serving on the board since June 2001. Please join me in expressing appreciation for all their efforts to make our neighborhood a better place to live.
I hope you will join us at the annual meeting on Saturday, March 15, but in any case please be sure to fill out the survey enclosed with this newsletter. And please consider how you might like to get involved in helping us make this neighborhood a better place. Contact me via email at kfdurham@earthlink.net or by phone at 493-2623. —Kathy Durham
REMEMBERING JIM CULPEPPER
By Pria Graves
More than 30 years ago, Jim Culpepper gathered together the residents of College Terrace to address neighborhood concerns - the increasing traffic racing through our streets, Stanford's proposal to develop Peter Coutts Hill, threats to historic homes in the neighborhood. This early gathering of neighbors was the beginning of the College Terrace Residents' Association. On Sunday, February 23, in his home town of Tallahassee, Florida, Jim Culpepper, passed away.
Jim gave the College Terrace Residents' Association our name, insisting that the Association should represent the interests of all residents, not just homeowners. He and his wife Kay walked the neighborhood distributing flyers calling us to action. He gave witty speeches to the City Council and deluged our newspaper editors with letters. He badgered the City until they closed our streets and Stanford until they agreed to dedicate Peter Coutts Hill as permanent open space. And when the Association re-awoke in 1996, he again encouraged and supported us.
Jim was a man of great charm, enthusiasm and wit. CTRA owes him a great deal.
We'll miss you, Jim!
Nominating Committee Report
By Erika Enos
It's hard to believe another year has gone by and we'll soon be electing a new Board of Directors for CTRA. This year's nominating committee comprising Sarah Hainstock (College Av), Laura Forrest (Yale St) and myself (Columbia St), tried once again to get a good "mix" of the Terrace. [See the next column.] Fortunately, most of last year's members have generously agreed to serve another term and we've found some new candidates from both the front end & back end of the Terrace. As in past years, the Board will work hard in the areas of monitoring Stanford development (on both sides of our neighborhood), working with the City on traffic and other concerns, and organizing social events that are the envy of the rest of the City. By the way, if you can't vote for board candidates at the March 15 annual meeting, get an absentee ballot by e-mailing board@ctra.org or calling me at 493-6677.
Support Your Neighborhood Association
Your contribution helps us to throw neighborhood parties, to publish this newsletter, and to track issues of importance to our community. Please make checks payable to College Terrace Residents' Association and include your name, address, phone number, and e-mail. Send to CTRA, c/o Paula Sandas, Treasurer, 2140 Columbia Street, Palo Alto, CA.
CTRA BOARD NOMINEES
KATHY DURHAM* (President ), has lived on Dartmouth St. with her husband and their 2 sons since 84. Building community among neighbors and making our streets safer for walkers and bikers are two of her longstanding concerns. She has co-hosted the Labor Day picnic since the early 1990s.
PAULA SANDAS* (Vice President) has lived in Palo Alto since '79 but moved to Columbia Street in '98. She has served on various nonprofit boards and is currently the Development Director for the Trees for El Camino Project. Her children, Kevin and Sean Harvey, are at Jordan and Escondido.
HOLLY WELSTEIN* (Secretary) first moved to the Terrace in '81. She and her family lived here for 9 years and daughter Claire was born during the Harvard St. baby boomlet of '84. After 11 years away, they returned "home" to Harvard St. in 2001 and found that while our neighborhood had changed, it had also, thankfully, stayed very much the same. She works part-time at Addison School and has enjoyed working on the CTRA board for the past year.
LAURA FORREST (Coordinator of Social Events ) , Yale St., has lived in the Terrace for 9 years. She and her husband Gregg are Palo Alto natives. Their children are Jack, 2, and Kate, 6 mo. She's a physical therapy assistant at El Camino Hospital.
JONATHAN RABINOVITZ* (Communications Director), Harvard, moved to the Terrace in '98. He and his wife, Leslie, have two children, Conor, 10, and Tia, 7, at Escondido. Jonathan, an editor at Stanford, is ready to continue producing the newsletter and e-mail updates.
PAUL GARRETT* (Research Park Observer) is willing to continue serving on the board. He and his wife Jean built a house on California Avenue 22 years ago so they could walk work, the business district, the train station, and the bus lines.
ALEXANDRA MCFARLAND* (Stanford Observer) works for Hewlett Packard and has happily lived on Stanford Avenue since '87. Currently with the Strategic Change Office at HP, she looks forward to continuing to work with Stanford on finding ways to cooperatively resolve neighborhood issues.
MARTHA PLATT (City Observer), Bowdoin St., has been a Palo Alto resident since '70 and in College Terrace since '84. She's a patient representative at Stanford Hospital. She was an intern in the Palo Alto Planning Department in the early 1970s and was active in the neighborhood response to development pressures in the 1980s.
* Indicates currently on the board
Views from the Terrace is produced by the College Terrace Residents Association. Questions and comments are welcome. Contact Jonathan Rabinovitz: 565-8268 or jonadrabi@yahoo.com
The front page masthead is courtesy of Kay Culpepper. Thanks to Copyamerica, 344 California Ave., for special assistance with reproduction.