Friday, July 27, 2012

To: Constance Birkie

From: Charles Sands Date: July 27, 2012 10:25:52 PM PDT

Ms Birkie,

Sure nice to read your below email citing what you believe .

 However I believe an at ADA compliant at grade pervious 4'-0" asphalt pathway WITHOUT a 6" high concrete curb, a raise impervious concrete sidewalk,  ADA ramps with domed  ADA warning mats, 29 driveway curb and steps or steep ramps down to front entry walks lower than new sidewalk would have been a lot better.

And I suppose the folks on the South side of Evergreen Ave. who now have to step down from MHS' raised sidewalk to their at grade entry walkway and have to drive up, across and down MHS' raised sidewalk are not happy but will simply "Grinn and Barette" as human beings do when faced with a lousy deal.

As for the new sidewalk "greatly improving the "serious drainage problem" of dumping roadway pollutants into Reed Creek I suggest you take a look at the unfiltered new street drain at Melrose Ave. a Reed Creek and the 2 new unfiltered storm water concrete pipes that dump new volumes of  polluted storm water runoff directly into the Ethel Ave. drainage ditch then Reed Creek,

I prefer a pervious asphalt pathway rather than an impervious concrete pathway because it absorbs storm water and paving  the  existing gravel paved on-street parking strip with  pervious asphalt  not impervious asphalt as the County will do for the same reason.

Marin County Stream Keepers and S.P.A.W.N. (endangered salmon protection groups) prefer   pervious asphalt  paving for the same reason.

A 14 day Oct. 2011 traffic count on Evergreen Ave. showed that MHS traffic to  have increased local traffic on Evergreen Ave. more than 100% since 2005 between 8:00 and 9:00 AM. endangering the safety of MHS children walking to school

Unlike MHS drivers I avoid driving up or down Evergreen Ave. as respect residential neighborhoods.

As an architect urban designer, after 2 years of daily reading folk's pro and con sidewalk  venting, rants, name calling emails I still have no concept or idea of what the 29 folks directly effected by the sidewalk in front of their homes would have liked to see happen on Evergreen Ave.

What if they didn't want a sidewalk. Well maybe MHS should have bought a $60,000 9 passenger SUV to shuttle fewer than 20 communing children to school from MHS' Whole Foods park and walk parking lot.

I offered 2 alternative design concepts for consideration by email and on HEARUS which received no pro or con comments. I'm not bothered by that.

1)was to make Evergreen one way west with a: 12' travel lane; 4'-0" bike lane; 8'-0" parking lanes paved with pervious asphalt or gravel and;9'-0" landscaped tree lined pedestrian strip on each side with an at grade (not a raised sidewalk with ADA ramps, curb cuts requiring new steps down to existing entry walks) pervious 4'0" ADA compliant pathway as at Muir Woods National Park.
2)An at grade (not a raised sidewalk with ADA ramps, curb cuts requiring new steps down to existing entry walks)pervious 4'0" ADA compliant pathway as at Muir Woods National Park.

Frankly it is not the role of an architect urban designer to do other than pose design concepts for a neighborhood for it to accept or reject. And acceptance or rejection of a posed design concept is of no importance as its part of the process of to assist a neighborhood in coming to terms with an developing its own unique design concept.

Only Keith proposed an alternative which  also included a bike way.

Why was that ?  Well as Mari has written the process was flawed. Normally neighborhood folks are brought together at in neighborhood work shops to meet. discuss and decide what they want or don't want. It didn't happen. Why is anyone's guess.

After all to have or not have a sidewalk is and should have been decided by the effected/impacted folks and not by folks who aren't effected/impacted by MHS' sidewalk. It didn't happen.

 At the Nov. 2011 Mill Valley Recreation Center MHS' sidewalk meeting the folks were promised the opportunity to vote pro or con MHS' sidewalk  their elected representative v

I've not received one email or comment on HEARUS from a parent or parents of Park School, MV Middle School or Tamalpais High School voicing a pro or con sidewalk opinion.

Why is that ?? After all the MHS' sidewalk SR2S application for $900,000 were granted based on MHS citing support from the Mill Valley School District.

Perhaps very few if any Park School, MV Middle School or Tamalpais High School parents were or are concerned for the safety of their children walking to school or maybe its simply too far to walk so they bike or go by vehicle. Who knows ? No one asked.

I am surprised by the seeming inability of soma folks to describe an idea, concept pro or con a sidewalk objectively so they stoop down to an uncivil, impolite, gutter level to express their pent up anger and perhaps frustration resorting to derogatory name calling and even implied threats of physical violence.

Of all my professional career experiences in designing and building AIA national award winning urban renewal developments, new towns and planned unit developments these past two years have been a classic example in how not to bring a neighborhood together in order that the neighborhoods decides for its self what it wants.
 Charles Sands
charlessands@aol.com

-----Original Message-----
From: Constance Birkie <cbirkie@comcast.net>
To: 'Charles Sands' <charlessands@aol.com>
Sent: Thu, Jul 26, 2012 11:23 am
Subject: FW: Request to be removed from 94941 email list serve



From: Constance Birkie [mailto:cbirkie@comcast.net]
Sent: Thursday, July 26, 2012 10:40 AM
To: 'Kimberly Hughes'; 'Hannelore Barnes'; 'HV 94941'
Cc: 'undisclosed
Subject: RE: Request to be removed from 94941 email list serve

Take me off the Email list.   I have had enough of this angry and hateful and baseless trash.
The sidewalk is a safe and handsome improvement to Evergreen.    Already walkers, dog walkers,  baby strollers,  groups of children, handicapped wheelers,  are using the finished parts of it.  It is a fine enhancement to the neighborhood regardless of the school.  I like the school and appreciate the wonderful improvements they have made to that blighted site.  I enjoy taking my grandchildren up to play in the school yard.  During the school year,  I like to see groups of children walking in the morning and afternoon. (Note that during the midday the foot traffic on Evergreen of  residents and visitors/hikers is continual and heavy.)   I also understand that nearly all parents of young children are driving them to school,  and that since young children need safety car seats,  many young families need SUVs.  (Note the traffic around Old Mill,  Park, and Edna Maguire Schools during arrival and departure times.)
                More than 20 years ago I researched and wrote the grant from the State Department of Urban Streams Renewal to improve the drainage to the meadow  and make it useful for the Community Center and School.  I worked closely with the State Department of Fish and Game to make sure we were doing the right thing.  The issue of harming the salmon  in Reed Creek is totally fallacious.  The new construction for the sidewalk has greatly improved several serious drainage problems of dump during heavy rainfall of exotics such as rubber and oil from the road directly into Reed Creek.
                Charlie Sands,   you live on upper North Ferndale.  Stay off of Evergreen.  Stay off of Montford and away from the school.  Go down La Vern.  We don’t need you and your extra traffic speeding down our street.     Constance Birkie,  ___ Evergreen.

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