City council blatantly disregards safety
The June 25 Los Altos City Council meeting was a full performance of theater of the absurd. In short, city council, except for Councilmember Lynette Lee Eng, chose expediency over safety. Subject? The paving configuration by Los
Altos High School, called the “Jardin Project” which upturned the community last year when it was rolled out, without civic input in the spring of 2023.
Twelve speakers took turns recapping eight months of civic engagement with city staff, Mountain View-Los Altos High School District (MVLA) staff, Complete Streets Commissions and different stake-holders, that strove to craft a better repaving solution to meet the needs of drivers, walkers, bikers, as well as the neighborhoods surrounding the high school. Attendees voiced pointed concern that the new “Jardin Project” still did not meet safety expectations, nor address student parking in neighborhood side streets. Attendees repeatedly requested roundtable discussions with city, council, MVLA and stake-holders to
finalize a realistic and safe repaving to Jardin and surrounding areas. All five council members appeared supportive of carving out the “Jardin Project” from the $1.3 million city-wide re-paving bid contract set for vote. That support fell apart when city staff advised council that the contract was an all-or-nothing contract – no carve-outs, no delays, no changes.
Singularly, Lee Eng asked for clarification on how to approve the contract while requesting a delay in the “Jardin Project” start date to better resolve the design. City staff advised her and all attending that this contract (received from only one bidder) could not be altered without serious legal consequences.
With that advice, four of the five council members walked away from constituent safety and approved a poorly drafted contract. This contract will put in place a design that will continue to threaten the safety of our community’s students, staff, visiting teams and their families, and our neighbors.
Reminds me of the stellar management quote, “Let’s have an exchange of ideas. … You walk in with your ideas, and you walk out with my ideas!”
Thank you city council for squandering eight months of community-engaged work to rush through a poorly crafted contract, for expediency.
Camilla McCrea
Los Altos
