Thursday, September 27, 2007

FLEMING PARK PLANS TAKE SHAPE

Most community members at the meeting liked Concept Plan1 the best, with the exception of the gazebo. Neighbors voted for the gazebo to be replaced with a longer trellis type structure as seen in Concept Plan 3 (below).

Despite community outreach from the city, only a small group of neighbors from the Fleming/Alum Rock area turned out for a final neighborhood meeting to plan a new city park for the area. The meeting on September 17th, was also attended by two city employees from the parks department, Evelyn Velez-Rosario and Jason Condit, as well as City Councilmember Nora Campos and her staff member Ryan Ford. Condit, who is a park designer, unveiled three plans for the half-acre site between Alum Rock Avenue and Fleming Court (former site of the Korean Baptist Church).

All three of the plans incorporated elements previously requested by neighbors at a meeting last spring such as a small childrens play area, par course, covered seating and grassy open space. The designs also include existing assets such as the mature pine, oak and fruit trees on the property.

Click on the photos above to get a closer look at the plans.

After some discussion, neighbors voted to accept the Concept Plan 1 design, which will be modified to include a longer trellis type structure instead of a gazebo, as well as a low decorative fence around the park's Fleming and Waterstone Court perimeters.

Not all neighbors in attendance approved of the plans. One gentleman who stated his family has lived on Fleming for 70 years said he "couldn't believe" the city was putting a park on Fleming Avenue. He called it the worst thing he's ever heard of. The neighbor had not been involved in the process before.

The park plan was developed as a compromise effort to reduce density, ease traffic and create open space in conjunction with a Braddock and Logan housing development next to the park. In late 2005, developers announced plans to build 21 homes on the former church site. Shortly thereafter, neighbors banded together and spoke out at a series of planning and council meetings throughout 2006 to get number of homes reduced. Eventually, the city council approved a plan to build 14 homes on the site, with some of the remaining land to be used for a small public park.

Unfortunately, city officials stated that the park will not be completed until sometime in 2009, although construction on the homes is well underway.



Friday, September 21, 2007

SJPD LAUNCHES NEW ONLINE SERVICE

San Jose Police have launched a very useful new service on the http://www.sjpd.org/ website which allows residents with personal computers to monitor the numbers, types and locations of all calls for service.
The free service works with Google maps and shows graphically the general location of where reported crimes are taking place. Individual calls show up as small icons denoting the type of crime, when it was reported and the incident number in case you want to follow up later. Individual addresses are not shown to protect people's privacy. The service also allows residents to get email alerts in near real time when the crimes have been reported. This is potentially a great tool for neighborhood groups trying to monitor crime in their area. They can look for trends, such as a rash of burglaries or car break-ins. Unfortunately for many of us, crimes reported to the Sheriff's Office are not part of the new online service

You can find the SJPD'S Crime Reports site here:

http://www.sjpd.org/Crime_stats/CrimeReportsFAQ.html

TRAFFIC BACKLOG GETS WORSE

No, I wasn't using my cameraphone while driving. I was completely stopped on 680, waiting for the light on the Alum Rock offramp. I decided to take a picture, because this was the first time I can ever remember traffic being backed up this far out onto the freeway. In fact, traffic was backed up so far that cars were side by side with those backed up from the Capitol Avenue exit. This was taken at 6pm on Wednesday. Is the East Side area getting crowded or what?

Monday, September 17, 2007

LYNDALE AVENUE BOY STRUCK BY SUV

The California Highway Patrol reported that late this morning that an unidentified 3 year old boy was struck while riding his bike by an SUV on Lyndale Avenue at Highwood. The boy was taken by ambulance to Valley Medical Center with minor injuries according to CHP Officer Todd Thibodeau. "He wasn't wearing a helmet", Thibodeau said, adding that the boy was lucky to escape with only "cuts and scrapes."

The boy's bike shows what could have happened. It was lodged beneath the wheels of the GMC Suburban. The driver, Maria Velasquez, told the CHP she was motoring northbound at about 20 miles per hour on Lyndale, when the boy veered into the street. Thibodeau said she tried to avoid hitting him, but could not stop in time. Velasquez is not a licensed driver, Thibodeau said, so she was cited and the vehicle was impounded.

Neighbors Nancy and Allen Olson said they had noticed the boy and his younger sister riding bikes and scooters earlier in the morning, apparently unattended. "We saw no parents," Nancy Olson said.

Friday, September 07, 2007

ALUM ROCK YOUTH CENTER FUNDRAISER

Dear Community Friends:

On Saturday, September 15, from 8:00 a.m. to noon, the Alum Rock Youth Center Advisory Team is hosting a flea market in the parking lot of the Youth Center at 137 North White Road. Please share the information with others, consider rent a space to sell, visit us Saturday to buy items, or donate items to sell. We appreciate your continued interest and support. You are welcome at any of our Advisory meetings which are held the 2nd Tuesday of the month from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Center.

Sincerely,

Tanya