Safety on our Streets
Dear Neighbors, a few months ago I asked motorists and cyclists to be safe and considerate on our Shores streets, and provided some practical guidelines as to what that means: Cyclists should obey the rules of the road like other traffic and be wary of cars; and motorists should share the road, watch for pedestrians and cyclists, and not speed.  Today I repeat the same request to be considerate and safe on our roads. Why am I revisiting this message so soon?

It’s because upon returning home on a Friday evening a few weeks ago I was horrified to see at the corner of Bridge and Marine Parkways a young cyclist down on the street, apparently having been hit by a car making a right turn onto Bridge from Marine.  The cyclist didn’t appear to be seriously injured, which was great, but it could have turned out tragically different.  I only know what I observed, but given the challenging conditions (it was dark so visibility was poor), it is possible that a bit more care on both sides could have prevented the accident.  Thank goodness there wasn’t a fatality or serious injury this time, but to avoid potential tragedies drivers and cyclists need to drive and ride more carefully and cyclists need to wear helmets!  Also, we all need to be exceptionally careful at this particular intersection, which has become busier due to library-related bike and pedestrian traffic.

As an aside, I observed that two ambulances and a fire truck arrived at the scene well ahead of the police.  This created an unsafe traffic situation since no one was directing traffic at the intersection and one lane of Bridge was closed by the emergency vehicles.  I don’t know why the Police were slow in responding, but I and a few RSCA Board members plan on discussing police coverage of the Shores, and other public safety issues, with the Redwood City Police in the near future.

So we can better represent you in this regard, please email me at  about your Shores public safety concerns.  We will raise these issues with the Police and the City, as appropriate, and will report developments in the Pilot and on our web page at www.rsca.org.

Coming Events
RSCA is planning lots of great events for this summer and fall.  This summer we are hosting with Redwood City three Concerts in the Park at a location in the Shores to be announced.  Later in the summer, we and the School District will be holding a community open house at our beautiful new Redwood Shores Elementary School.  We also invite you to participate in RSCA’s annual Levee Cleanup on August 28.  Finally, we’re planning a celebration for RSCA’s 40th anniversary later in the fall.  Follow the Pilot and our web page at www.rsca.org for additional details.

Membership
If you have not yet joined RSCA for 2010, you will soon receive a follow-up membership letter.  Please join us as we celebrate our 40th anniversary of community service in Redwood Shores.

–Doug Crisman