Cuesta speed bumps info inaccurate
I found the Town Crier’s article on the Cuesta Drive speed bumps to be inaccurate (“City dumps the humps – at least for time being,” Feb. 22).
First, it said Cuesta was a residential “cut-through” when it has been the main through street from Los Altos to Mountain View since I moved to the area. It is the most direct route to El Camino Hospital, where I have worked as a nurse for almost 40 years. The fire department probably recognized that fact when they made the route the evacuation route. People who bought on that street must have known they were buying on a busy street.
Why did the city of Los Altos not confer with the fire department to verify the correct height of the bumps before spending over $169,000 on a bad project?
Second, why should the residents on that part of Cuesta Drive have what is essentially a 15 mph zone? Other similar residential streets have 15 mph designated only at certain times near schools. The city efforts to accommodate people living on Cuesta made many other streets experience an immediate upsurge in traffic.
Finally, why ask about whether the contractor should be required to pay part of the bill? I always assume the contractors are hired by the city, which has given them specs for the job.
Carolyn Boak
Mountain View
Negligence provokes ‘builder’s remedy’
In her recent letter to the San Jose Mercury News, Anita Enander failed to mention the position of the California State Attorney General regarding the “builder’s remedy.”
In its recent letter to the city of Huntington Beach, the AG’s Office said the builder’s remedy “is triggered only if the city shirks its basic duty to provide its residents with a substantially compliant Housing Element.”
Indeed, many California cities are working in good faith to complete this basic duty, and Los Altos, so far, has no applications for builder’s remedy projects.
Enander also misstated that the builder’s remedy doesn’t require additional affordable housing; at least 20% of such projects must be low income or 100% moderate.
The democratic process is functioning just fine. All California cities must share the responsibility of adding sufficient entry-level housing for those who need it. There’s no basis to claim it’s someone else’s problem.
Tim Biglow
Los Altos Affordable Housing
Alliance Steering Committee
