What a bunch of spoiled babies

"We want to be able to get to Santa Monica fast, without emitting greenhouse gasses, but only if the yucky part is in the *sniff* East Bay."

How much do you want to bet that the Shallow Altans, if they get their way, will roll their eyes and sigh about how they would love to take the train instead of flying, except they would have to go over the bridge to *gasp* Fremont!

Yay Woodside! -- wait, Woodside?!?

After years of being mostly hostile to cyclists, Woodside has suddenly made a dizzying number of improvements to its roads. Perhaps if I were some kind of citizen journalist, and/or had some free time, I'd find out who was responsible for this. Thanks to the Redwood City Bicycle Pedestrian Committee (which I helped found, back when I had time) for passing this on.


April has been a month of bike safety progress in Woodside! Since the Peninsula Committee's Woodside Ride on April 4th:

1) Caltrans reduced the speed limit from 40 to 35 mph on westbound Woodside Rd (Hwy 84) approaching the I-280 intersection This is the area where Michelle Mazzei was run down and killed by a motorist in October 2005.

NOW

2) With TDA funding, Woodside reconfigured the westbound bike lane on Woodside Rd approaching the Canada Rd intersection so that straight-through cyclists are not channeled to the right of the right-turn-only lane.

BEFORE

NOW

3) With the same TDA funding, Woodside extended the NO PARKING red curb along the eastbound Woodside Rd bike lane (east of the Canada Rd intersection). The bike lane is now 12 feet wide where parking is permitted east of the landscaped triangle.

BEFORE

NOW

4) In another TDA-funded project, Woodside replaced a depressed drain grate in the westbound Woodside Rd bike lane west of Buck's Restaurant with a flush, at-grade solid plate. Cyclists now have one fewer obstacles to navigate. (They can now concentrate on getting around the cars that park in the bike lane, legally. Unthinking cyclists frequently choose to park in the bike lane when they go for a ride.)

BEFORE

NOW

5) Woodside has diagonally striped the northbound shoulder of Portola Rd between Sand Hill and Mountain Home Roads to inform cyclists and motorists alike that the shoulder is not a bike lane. There is a steep-walled drainage ditch adjacent to the shoulder. This stretch of Portola Road is a shared roadway.

BEFORE

NOW

Heading Down Under?

We've got our best lead yet on a home exchange in Sydney, where Linda and fam are for the year. Some 'hood called Randwick, which sounds very Australian. I didn't think it would take quite so long to find an acceptable home exchange.

I'm also starting to think about all the things we need to do around the house before a home exchange happens. I think I could spend all day, every day for two weeks working on projects and organizing around the house and not be finished...

BAD Redwood City!

I just got a totally bogus ticket parked downtown. I shall be fighting it...

UPDATE: I called my contact at the city and he jumped on it -- I guess bogus parking tickets are not the way to get people to return to downtown and spend money. The traffic sergeant called me personally and said he was taking care of it and if I got any more notices in the mail to call him!

Go Redwood City!

Conserving water, like we didn't know that.

Are you familiar with freezing rain?

If you were in Illannoy this month, then probably so. Yes, this month: April. It's freaking APRIL people! Why Do You Still Live There?!?!?!?!?!?

Go, Obama, Go!

Now we know what we're getting Arthur for his birthday. Make sure to scroll all the way down.