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Acrimonious meeting reveals traffic woes By Daniel DeBolt
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ollowing two collisions that killed pedestrians on California Street this year, the Shoreline West Association of Neighbors held an unusual meeting on street safety Monday night. The Community Center’s lower social hall was packed at the beginning of the meeting with over 80 people, but later thinned to around 40. After the meeting, several bicycle advocates expressed frustration with city officials for what they saw as blaming victims and an unwillingness to consider sacrificing vehicle traffic flow for pedestrian and bicycle safety. Council member Ronit Bryant had a rosier view after attending the meeting, reporting to council on Tuesday night that “lots of neighborhoods and groups are coming together to worry about bike and pedestrian issues. I think we are facing a year of moving forward on a lot of bicycle safety and traffic issues. I look forward to our goal-setting in January.” Before the discussions began, police Capt. Tony Lopez and public works director Mike Fuller briefly talked about the the prob-
lem from their perspectives. The police view Lopez took an educational approach towards the issue, pointing out that though pedestrians and cyclists have the right of way, doesn’t mean it’s always safe. He said his own niece “would stand in front of a train and argue she has the right of way. Don’t be my niece. Don’t take that chance.” Describing what police believe happened in the deaths of three pedestrians this year, he also pointed out the mistakes made by two of the victims. The exception was William Ware, who was struck by an speeding car while standing at a California Street bus stop, a case he called an “anomaly” because of the driver’s extreme recklessness as he swerved to avoid a car making a turn and lost control. Lopez surprised some by saying that “speed is not a factor in (Ware’s) case,” but later clarified that “the distinction was being made to highlight the recklessness as well beyond ‘speeding.’” He also pointed out that drivers weren’t found to be at fault in the two other pedestrian deaths in the neighborhood, and that
MICHELLE LE
Capt. Antonio Lopez addresses the crowd during a community meeting about recent fatal accidents.
both victims were wearing dark clothes at night, including Erik Onorato, who police believe was hit while jogging at night on Shoreline Boulevard, near Wright Avenue. In the case of Joshua Baker, struck by a car at night while crossing California Street near Pettis Avenue, Lopez said Baker was likely standing among trees on the median before stepping
onto the street, hidden from view, and that “his clothing was not the most reflective.” He said alcohol was not a factor and speeding was not a factor. “Either way, that poor gentlemen is dead and some poor driver is dealing with the reality of taking someone’s life.” Police are launching a public education campaign aimed at cyclists and pedestrians, and are
now posting on Facebook where traffic cops are ticketing people in hopes of getting drivers to talk about where to to be careful. Janet LaFleur said the accidents prove that even at legal speeds, cars are going too fast on California Street and Shoreline Boulevard. LaFleur and another bicycle See ACRIMONIOUS, page 7
Council finally sees Shoreline traffic fix ideas By Daniel DeBolt
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edicated shuttle lanes, futuristic people-movers, park-and-ride garages and new bikeways are among the transportation options being studied for Google’s neighborhood as the city faces a wave of office projects there. In a study session Tuesday, Oct. 16, Council members heard
a presentation from city consultant James Lightbody, who is trying to figure how the city might accommodate as many as 48,000 employees in a North Bayshore developed to the limits of the 2030 General Plan. It is an area north of Highway 101 where 17,000 jobs now exist and roads are near full capacity. The measures will have to
be unusual, as North Bayshore companies estimate that 39 percent of their employees already use alternative modes of transportation to get to work. At full build-out, and at current rates of car use, road use could jump 300 percent. And North Bayshore’s roads can only be modified to accommodate 25 percent more traffic, Lightbody said.
Pay a buck, save the world LOS ALTOS HIGH TEACHER WINS AWARD FOR FOUNDING ONE DOLLAR FOR LIFE By Lisa Kellman
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hen 9,000 students from five California schools donated just $1 each in 2007, the resulting $9,000 was enough to build a new school in Kenya. The idea was the brainchild of Los Altos High School teacher Robert Freeman, who founded
the nonprofit organization One Dollar For Life. When the Kenyans saw their new school, “they thought it was the Taj Mahal ... and were just crying, openly weeping,” Freeman recalled this week. Freeman will be honored with the Palo Alto Kiwanis Club’s first Angel Award later this
month for his work with One Dollar. Freeman founded the nonprofit because he was frustrated with “teenagers’ sense of impotence in being able to make a difference in the world.” So, he made a model by which anyone, by donating a dollar, could participate and change the world
“2030 is too late, solutions need to be in place immediately,” said council member Ronit Bryant. “Everyone needs to be working equally hard and it can be done.” Lightbody has been working with Google, Intuit, LinkedIn and other North Bayshore companies in coming up with a menu of transportation improvement — provided everyone did so. “The point was to put the impetus onto the teenagers themselves for enlisting one another. It is a generational bootstrap to a higher level of cultural consciousness (‘we’re all in this together’) that is necessary to meet the challenges of our time,” he said. Freeman graduated from Santa Clara University in 1981 with a bachelor’s degree in economics before getting his MBA at Stanford University’s Graduate
for North Bayshore, some of which may be adopted by the City Council early next year. “The sense I get is businesses really want to solve transportation and solve it in a really creative way,” said Marianna Grossman, director of Sustainable Silicon Valley, which has See SHORELINE, page 11
School of Business. He started his career in the computer industry before transitioning to teaching in 2000. Seven years later with the help of a few dedicated students, Freeman put his model into action. When Freeman and a group of students flew to Kenya to build the school, he saw the impact One Dollar could have on children living in Third World countries and how students in See DOLLAR FOR LIFE, page 6
October 19, 2012 ■ Mountain View Voice ■ MountainViewOnline.com ■
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