Pumpkin Patch reminds us of our past
Editor:
Once a historic site is gone, it simply cannot be replaced, whether it is the old Mountain View High School, or the many square miles of agricultural land already taken up by housing in the area. Cities like Mountain View should be very cautious whenever a place like the “Pumpkin Patch” is on the table for development.
The Pumpkin Patch site, originally part of a fig and apricot orchard, is especially significant due to its rich history. The two-story home and tank house there were built nearly 100 years ago by orchardist Barney Job, and still stand today on the southern part of the property. Job went on the sell his portion of the land to Clara and George Glumaz, relatives of the Mardesich family.
The Glumaz (Mardesich) family acquired the rest of the property during later years. In 1987, the Schmitz family started to lease the land, and removed nearly all of the fruit trees to make room for the farm that they continue to operate today.
Mountain View needs to remember where it came from. Agriculture put Mountain View and the rest of Santa Clara County on the map. Whenever there is an opportunity to save some of this land for future generations to enjoy, it needs to be taken, as there are very few acres left.
Doug Wiersig
Arbor Avenue, Los Altos
San Antonio underpass used mainly by cars
Editor:
We would like to clarify a statement made in your Feb. 3 article about the San Antonio underpass, “Bikers, walkers await fate of underpass.” You state, “The narrow two-lane underpass … is designed for autos but is rarely used.” On Tuesday, Jan. 17 from 6 to 9 a.m., we personally counted 61 cars using the underpass, accessing San Antonio South and North. It is true that bikers and walkers use the underpass, but cars are its main users.
This traffic count was initiated when the Mayfield Coalition (residents from Monta Loma and Palo Alto assessing the Draft Environmental Impact Report for the Mayfield site) discovered that the report did not include a traffic count for the underpass. As residents of the Monta Loma neighborhood, we drive the underpass route regularly as do many of our neighbors. Not counting the underpass traffic was ignoring a substantial amount of traffic and the impact it has in the area. This omission left the analysis of traffic impacts from the Mayfield development flawed.
Our observations of the tunnel traffic were presented at the Planning Commission meeting on Jan. 25 and also submitted in writing to the Planning Department. The Mayfield Coalition has requested that a traffic count for the underpass be included in the final Environmental Impact Report.
Chuck and Cookie Henderson
Aldean Avenue
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