art liberman

By Art Liberman

While walking along the Bol Park shared path, I have had a number of close calls with bicyclists riding at excessive speed. When I mention this to other residents, some tell me that they, too, have had similarly uncomfortable experiences. And I know of two Barron Park residents who were struck and knocked down while they were walking in the park by students who were riding their bikes carelessly.

Most bicyclists are responsible, careful and attentive. Some bicyclists call out as they approach, and others ring their bell. That’s a basic requirement, but ‘yell or bell’ is not enough if a bicyclist is riding at high speed on a path where there are also elderly walking slowly, kids on tricycles, toddlers running over the hill from the play area, families pushing strollers to the donkey pasture, and folks walking their pets. I am a bicyclist myself, and I often ride around the neighborhood and along this path. I am aware of the hazards a fast moving bicycle poses to pedestrians; it is a disaster waiting to happen.

The solution is simple. Bicyclists must SLOW DOWN when they are near pedestrians. Bicyclists need to know that the path is to be shared with pedestrians and that they need to slow down. To reinforce that message, I am advocating that the Parks Department place the following sign (based on one that’s on a path in the Los Angeles area) at the path entrance and at a number of places along the path:

Bol Park Shared Path – SLOW DOWN- SHARE THE PATH

The Bol Park path is a ‘Shared Path,” not just a bike path. Bicyclists may not realize this and, from the sign currently at the path entrance, be under the mistaken impression that they have exclusive rights to the path:

“Bike Path” sign at entrance to Bol Park Shared Path

from Greta Gize Olbrich

IT …as in Information Technology.

Barron Park School is the only school in PAUSD, and one in just a handful in the Bay Area that teaches coding in the classroom in a program supported by code.org , a non-profit foundation dedicated to growing computer programming education.

Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, among the supporters of this initiative, both believe that “every student in every school should have the opportunity to learn how to code.” Barron Park School has taken the initiative and is providing this opportunity to its students. See Barron Park on the list of schools who are participating in this program : http://www.code.org/learn/find-school

Barron Park’s Educational Technology Teacher Specialist, Smita Kolhatkar, holds a very unique staffing position at the school. She is a full-time teacher, but splits her instructional time at all grade levels and all classrooms. And what’s more, Barron is the only elementary school in PAUSD to host a full-time Educational Technology Specialist. Smita helps augment the ways in which technology is used to enhance teaching and learning. There is a lot of excitement on the campus with this additional resource to invest in supporting our teachers to use the digital tools that are constantly evolving. She’s introduced Tynker, LEGOMindstorm, SCRATCH, and SCRATCH 2.0 to the students during class time. There’s also a very popular SCRATCH/Tynker club at noontime.

In October, I (Art Liberman) published a post on this website about the proposal by the City to create a Bicycle Boulevard on Matadero Ave.

While this was one of the “priority proposals” in Palo Alto’s new Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Plan, it was never really vetted within the Barron Park community. In fact, the Plan’s input came through the PABAC (the Palo Alto Bicycle Advisory Committee) that reports to the Chief Transportation Official, without any real consultation with the neighborhood groups.

In the past week, there’s been a lively discussion on the Barron Park issues email list, BPA-issues@googlegroups.com (if you are not already on the list and want to subscribe, just click on the “BPA Email Lists” navigation tab and enter your email address under the name of the list).

What precipitated the recent online discussion was an indication that the City was about to go ahead with the design of the Bike Boulevard on its own, without community outreach or soliciting its input.

The lively back and forth indicated that some people didn’t understand what was being proposed, or why this project was going forward at this time. Others chimed in and helped by providing some historical background and context. And still others came up with a number of suggestions and ideas (about striping, parking, signage on cross street, etc..) that would not have been included in a design without it coming from those who use the road frequently for riding, for walking and for driving. And especially from those who live on it.

In responding to these concerns, the Department’s Director, Curtis Williams, wrote to Lynnie Melena, BPA President:

The City of Palo Alto has not started any type of design work for the Matadero Bicycle Boulevard project and staff does not anticipate proposing bicycle lanes, as we know they wouldn’t fit on Matadero Avenue. Project elements likely to be studied will include “Share the Road” bicycle markings (Sharrows), signage to designate the bicycle boulevard, crosswalk improvements at the Bol Park Path, and traffic calming measures at the Josina intersection.

…….Based on the limited work scope, staff had hoped to design the project in-house, with staff working through a community outreach process. However, given the recent level of concern expressed, we will use one of our on-call transportation consultants to assure we can look at any and all options brought forth by the residents. Staff wants to begin and an outreach process with the Barron Park community and work through the design together.

When the consultant team is on board, probably mid- to late-April, we’ll notify residents via post card and e-mail regarding meeting schedules, and coordinate with you and the Board. We’ll do our best to try to have the meetings held at Barron School to accommodate residents.

BPA Board Meeting Minutes – provisional until voted on at next Board Meeting : Mar 19, 2013

Attendees: Markus Fromherz, Nancy Hamilton, John King, Art Liberman, Gwen Luce, John King, Linda Elder, Doug Moran

Absent: Lynnie Melena, Lydia Kou, Christian Kalar

Guest: Lisa Landers, Romie Georgia (Green Team)

1. Volunteer (or Assignment) of Secretary to take minutes for this meeting

The January board minutes were reviewed and approved with one abstention.
Markus agreed to serve as secretary for this meeting.

2. Announcements and brief items

Nancy reminded the board about the March 1 deadline for the BPA ‘push’ newsletter. Since several businesses wanted to advertise, but haven’t sent money for an ad yet, Gwen volunteered to remind them.

Lydia (not present) wants to organize another cultural event, this time the Indian Holi Celebration at Bol Park, from 1 to 3 PM on March 24. She is looking for volunteers to help.

Lydia is also proposing a pet parade at the May Fete. There may not be enough time according to John. There could be a Agility Dogs or Search and Rescue demo if there’s a volunteer. No decision is made.

John reports that everybody has confirmed for their elements of the May Fete on May 19.

3a. Presidential Job Description

Lynnie has announced that she will resign as board president following the June meeting. The board is still looking for a candidate.

The board reviews and discusses the job description of the President. The following duties are seen as being the core of the job:

Make all of the preparations and preside over the monthly board meetings. (This is the main duty stated in the bylaws.)
Ensure that board members and committees do their work and have what they need. (The entire board can be vigilant and support this task.)
Disseminate news which has been sent by outside sources to the President. (As a practical matter, such news are often sent to the President. There is an email alias for the President.)
Ensure representation of the BPA board at City Council and City Staff meetings. (This duty is as needed only.)

The following duties are sometimes done by the President, but can be delegated.

Write an article for the quarterly issues of the newsletter. (This could be done round-robin by the board members. It is pointed out that the President’s message could also be simply a summary of board and association activities of the last three months, instead of the discussion of a particular topic.)
Organize the annual meeting. (This is actually the Vice President’s duty and can be delegated.)
Manage special requests and projects. Represent the board on longer-term studies or projects. Work with other officers and event managers on problems that may come up. (These are not usually required. Sometimes the President has to be present at official meetings to put weight behind a board opinion, but most of these tasks can also be delegated or should be done by committee chairs.)
Work to maintain positive working relationships among all board members. (The entire board can contribute to this.)

Those present feel that no changes to the bylaws are needed, but that the job description should be captured as thus described.

The 17th Annual Juana Run through Barron Park is this Saturday. This popular event, initiated and organized by Barron Park resident Karen Saxena, benefits the Terman PTA and Gunn Sports Booster’s. It also benefits any participating school or team that signs up. It is intended as a fund-raiser and a community-building event.

The signature event of the Juana Run is an 8K (about 5 miles) race that begins at 8:30 AM and winds its way through and around the streets of Barron Park, ending at Juana Briones school. You can still sign up and participate. Go to the event web page, www.juanarun.org
Or just come out and line the race route and cheer on your neighbors and friends!

Here’s the map of the race route …

Juana Run – 8K run map

Streets along the course will be closed to cars while the runners are in that area.

A few streets are scheduled for complete closure:
Maybell at Pena 8:15 – 8:35; Los Robles at La Donna, 8:45-9:30 and 11-11:15; Los Robles at Amaranta to Laguna 9:50 – 11:15; Amaranta 10:00 -11:15; Orme 8:15-11:30.

The Juana Run is an event for the whole family. After the 8K race, there are special ‘Kids races’. The children’s races, of distances from 200 yards to 1/2 mile for kids in Pre-K through 5th grade, start at 10 AM. And a one mile race starts at 11:10 AM.

The Barron Park Association

The Barron Park Association

Pedestrian Safety on the Bol Park Shared Path

Barron Park School Has IT!

IT …as in Information Technology.

Update on the Matadero Bicycle Boulevard

BPA Board Meeting Minutes: February 19, 2013