Well, here we are again in mid-June, as I write this for the July Pilot, still with our “lousy” weather as a number of the callers put it. Since the 21st is the first day of Summer let’s all hope that it really happens ! Many diverse calls this past month – some nice, some not so nice, but that’s why the “Soapbox” title.

Let’s get the ‘not-so-nice’ out of the way first. These were relative to the stopping to allow the geese to cross our lanes and parkways. Several said that by “stopping to let them cross” we were just encouraging them to do it more often. On the other side several said this is something they do each spring when they see the various “families out together”. My beliefs are that since we all “took over” their territory we need to be considerate of them. For those of you who have been here for many years you will remember that we had red foxes, ‘possums’, jackrabbits, and raccoons in what were the ‘pasture’ fields east of Shell Drive. All are gone now.

Next came the calls about the Cringle Drive stop signs. I am personally delighted. I did not want to see another child or an adult killed there as was the schoolgirl on Bridge some 20-odd years ago. Also includes a second crosswalk. I was unable to decipher some of the calls in that they said they felt that drivers could skirt that intersection by going al the way around by Marlin Park to Bridge and then left to Redwood Shores Parkway and then right. Why use extra time and gas to go so far out of one’s way. Again, many calls were about speed and bikers, particularly those who are not considerate of the drivers and just cut in and out and right on through the stop signs and lights. I keep saying they should have insurance just like us auto drivers.

I was asked again to please include a note about having your family or a friend help you check out your low beams, high beams, brakes and front and back signal lights. More and more are not bothering to use them and it really is a problem, particularly at an intersection where you have absolutely no idea of where that opposing car is going next. And, most were to do with cars not coming up to the stop line at a signal. As I’ve said, if you as a driver and looking into the back seat of a car next to you, you can move up to be equal to the other driver. Or you may need an eye exam. Some of our signal lights are on “short term” if they are not heavily used streets, so if you are stopped way back and not ready to move when the light changes you will most likely be the only car that gets through the light, possibly a second one, but the others will get the yellow.

Ah yes, the yellow! More and more seem to be running it and what a scary thought should it already be red as you get to the middle of the intersection and other cars are now moving forward. I was very happy that I was the second car in line a few days ago as this is exactly what happened and that other driver saw that the one coming from the right side of the intersection was not going to stop. It was green for him but he stopped just over the line to let that red-light runner clear. What an accident that would have been.

Since this has been about inconsiderate drivers I want to finish up by again reminding you that if you are out in your motor boat the max speed is 5 miles per hour – NO WAVES !! And please, take home with you any snack wrappers, etc. you may have. I am really tired of having that debris coming to visit me. With our nice weather due soon [?] please remember when out in the evenings to have some type of light with you if riding your bikes, pushing your baby carriage, walking your dog or just strolling. We need to know you’re there and we do care … see you later – alligator …

— Pat Dixon, the Swan Lady

Hello again — can anyone tell me where the time has gone? Seems it was only yesterday we were all enjoying the sunshine we had for the Egg Hunt.

Had two very interesting phone messages Friday and an enlightening phone conversation with a very nice lady on Saturday while I was home. All three were related to the Cringle / RWS Parkway intersection and all three were similar stories about cars not slowing or stopping for them to cross although the sign was on.

The lady from the phone conversation — who said she was 72 — said she was on the crosswalk side of Cringle and was going south so when she got to the corner she looked to her left and saw two cars just starting to come through the Marlin stop signs so she pushed the crosswalk button thinking she had time to get across the outside car lane. She was almost through it and the two cars had come up and were stopped when a third car came up in the inside lane and never slowed up at all. She said she was able to step back in front of the first stopped car and when that third car passed the second one stopped immediately started to honk its horn. The driver just kept on going — never even slowing down.

Because of these calls and the lady asking if I could help in anyway I went to the Monday evening City Council meeting and related the above. In addition I also mentioned that some years back we had a death at the intersection of Bridge and Bowsprit where the school girl was being escorted across by a Crossing Guard. Here again the driver did not stop or even slow down. The stop signs were immediately put into place there. I also asked the Council to come on out — basically anytime — and try crossing themselves and also that all the children that live on the south side of RWS Pkway have to cross there to get to the pathway that takes them to Sandpiper School. I also mentioned that the ‘not sufficient traffic count’ reply that we have been getting really should not have to apply. One death should be sufficient to get the stop signs in. A light there really isn’t necessary.

Hopefully this has done some good as on Tuesday I received an e-mail saying it will be placed on a May Council Agenda. My only question now is why it has to wait so long. The Shores is built out now, with the Preserve, and while I’m not experienced in digging a hole and cementing in a stop sign I did ask if one could be put in on Tuesday! I know that there are many who do not want a stop there, but the majority I talk with do. Maybe you that don’t would feel differently if you had a child who had to cross there to get to school. And yes, we have a goodly number of stop signs, but as a community that is so densely built up that is the only intersection without one.

I only have a little space left so again, as a reminder, keep your windows and doors locked as we are having some prowlers again. In fact a week or so ago my neighbor happened to be out on his deck and noticed that a resident across the street on Davit had left their garage door open. Two teenagers were walking down the sidewalk, saw the open door and with no one in sight spied two skateboards which they went in and took. So now with the nice weather just around the corner, please be careful. See you in June, have a good one and — PLEASE DRIVE WITHIN OUR SPEED LIMITS AND WITH CARE.

— Pat Dixon, the Swan Lady

Ahh — Sunshine after all that rain ! Nice isn’t it? Hope all that attended the Easter Egg Hunt had a good time. The next events should be the Music in the Park, starting in a few months.

Again, many of the calls were relative to the speeding cars on Redwood Shores Parkway. The Police Dept. says it has to see them in order to ticket them, but it seems to me that we, who obey the speed limits and do them, should be able to call in the license number and color of a car. Maybe that would help to slow them down.

Now with the nice weather we have April, May and part of June with our kids walking to school and that Cringle/RWS intersection questionable, leave yourself enough time to get to where you are going but also lets you drive RWS at a slower speed. Everyone will thank you! Also wanted to apologize that a few readers misinterpreted what I had written. When I say to leave at least 5 feet between your car front and the back of the car ahead, it is here within our parkways and not on the freeways. The DMV says a car length for each mile of speed on the freeways.

Had an interesting call the other morning. A friend who just happened to be looking out into her back yard saw a large swarm of small birds gather in a large tree there. She tried to describe them to me but my Bird Book has many pages with some of the same various colors, so I would like for her and her friend to come over for coffee and we’ll go through the book. She said she had not seen these type of birds before and as we are on the migratory path for a lot of wildlife it would be great to be able to know just what they are and where they may be headed.

At a recent RSCA meeting a resident came to ask if the Board could help her and some others about a major problem. She and others go for evening walks and it seems that there are some teen-agers who have taken to doing wheelies in the parking areas under the bridge on Bridge Parkway and next to the Mistrials parking, making those who use the area as it was intended very uncomfortable. Calling the Police is not effective. as this is a privately maintained parking area. I was not given any name as to whom should be called, but I certainly would let the Manager of Mistrials know about it.

Lastly, I received an e-mail from a friend that I found to be extremely interesting, but is too long to try to incorporate here. It is entitled “Things your Burglar won’t tell you”, and all 21 of comments are right on the button. In reading them it reminded me of a few years ago when we were being burglarized throughout the Shores and when I was called I made some of the same comments. It really is something that should be printed off, framed and hung in a place where your entire family would see it.

Take care, enjoy the weather and I’ll see you next month.

Hello again! Now that this will be coming out in March let’s hope that this last week of February is the LAST of our rain. While I do like the rain and we really need it, I firmly believe this year was a bit too much.

And this brings us again to the speed of the cars on Redwood Shores Parkway [RWSPky]. As the weather clears our kids will be walking to school and everyone who uses RWSPky really needs to drive slower and be paying attention.

I’m still waiting for the toxic results of the goose bait. Hopefully I will have more info for next month. Being that our lagoons are on the migratory pathway for much wildlife, most of the Canada geese are gone, with some stragglers over behind Oracle near the slough. The Davit Lagoon has many of the small migratory ducks in now and again, as usual, many people out taking pictures. As of February 1st the Fish & Wildlife have told me it is now illegal to put those large bait trap boxes into our lagoons. Should you see anyone doing so — in the late evening hours — you should call our Police Dept. immediately and ask them to have our Community Officer get here as soon as possible.

This has happened twice along Davit, but in mid afternoon. The two men were squatted down at the water’s edge, the first time throwing the rocks in the water and the second time coiling some kind of wire and tossing that in. According to the Fish & Game you can still fish in the sloughs beyond the RWS levees, but a commercial fishing license is required.

Was talking with some of the crew working on the levee’s and to answer many questions I was told that in some areas the trees/bushes had to be removed in order to strengthen the levee’s. Hopefully this will answer many questions I have received.

Again, please be sure that when walking your dog it is on a leash and be sure to pick up any feces it may have left. As I’ve said before, by letting your dogs sniff another’s left-overs and if that dog had a disease your dog can contract it.

Many of the calls were relative to the various road markings. We all know about the red, green and yellow areas, but it’s the solid, rectangular and striped ones we seem to forget about. In an auxiliary lane you can do the speed limit — 65 — but if you are not planning to exit when you see the rectangular blocks show up it is time to get to your left into a regular lane. Solid lines mean no crossing over into that lane, which is why when driving all your attention should be on your driving and which lanes you need to get there safely.

Also remember that on the freeways the DMV says to leave a car length between you and the one in front, but please don’t do that with our local streets. The signal lights are not set for that much time between cars and only about three can make it through until the yellow comes on. By leaving 5 feet or so between cars several more can get through before the light changes and we won’t see so many that are now running the red. Also for any newcomers, you can turn right on a red if you are going into the immediate right lane and IF THERE ARE NO ON-COMING CARS. A final reminder PLEASE USE YOUR SIGNAL LIGHTS. There is nothing more maddening then not knowing what the car ahead of you plans to do or when it will stop and the same for one coming toward you. And if you find you are running ‘late’ try starting earlier and give yourself a break.

See you at the end of March at the Easter Egg Hunt.

— Pat Dixon, the Swan Lady

Hello again.  Were you all able to survive the mid-January storms?  Strange weather, but we do need the water. 

Which brings up two items I found floating off my dock and the oil spills that attached themselves to the rocks.  If you are doing this or see your neighbor’s changing their car oil or just dumping oils from cooking PLEASE explain that some of the drains are not sewers but street water overflow that then drains directly into the lagoons.  For the oil that collected on my rocks under my dock I was told to sprinkle a bit of Dawn dish soap and it would break up all that mess.  I tried it and it truly worked.  But the best thing is just do not put anything down those drains in the first place. 

Next, I found a large wine-bottle called Ande’ Strawberry Fresa.  It still had all  the paper opening warnings on it.  I like a good wine, but I am at a complete loss on this one with Government health warnings,  opening instructions, eye injuries, etc.  Anyway, here it was caught on some rocks with cracking sounds.  I was able to get it out of the water before it broke, but had it broken our wildlife could have tried to eat it or been cut by it. 

The last thing I found made me cry. It was a small white rat, obviously a pet, that had drown.  I do not know to whom it belonged, if it managed to get outside somehow, or if it was deliberately thrown into the water.  If you find you can no longer care for your pet it can be taken to the Coyote Point Humane Society for adoption.  That is certainly the most humane thing you can do, not only for yourself but also for your pet. 

Now back to the basic calls — again driver consideration being the most re-quested with the top comments being the lack of signal use and speeding.   I want to add in here that if your DMV license needs renewing soon you might want to have your eyes tested  before you have to take your test.  Something I saw the other day really frightened me.  I was in the middle lane just starting to cross over the freeway from RWS into Holly Street when this medium size car that had been in the fast lane just simply cut over to exit to the south bound freeway lane.  No signal, nothing, just simply cut over when there truly was no room.   Everyone managed to get out of the way, but there were a lot of red brake lights suddenly on. If you have forgotten or are new to the area, one does not cross over solid lines — they are meant for you to stay in your own lane and it is important for a driver to be aware of where they are and to know what exits to take.

Another major problem is at the west side of Holly coming to the Industrial intersection down from the overpass.  The lanes change there and many drivers are not paying attention the  lane markers.  If one is on the right side of Holly they try to continue straight ahead, cutting off someone on the left side that is entering their lane. 

Lastly, if you find that you are always trying to make up for lost time, try setting your clocks a few minutes head, this will give you a little extra time to decide where you are going and to think about your route there.  The last train accident was because someone wasn’t paying attention to where they wanted to go and simply drove onto the tracks.  “Extra/spare” time will allow you to relax — somewhat — and not be pushing it as to your reactions. 

Maybe now that a goodly part of our storms are over we can look for some nice warm February weather and a Happy Valentines Day!  See you in March.

— Pat Dixon, the Swan Lady

Hello again – don’t know where the time has gone but here we are almost to the end of this year. Many of the calls were varied- lots about inconsiderate drivers and speeding, but my thanks to the boaters out for an evening’s ride while the weather is still nice. Their conversations are in a lower tone. Also thanks to those either gathering up the garbage that’s been blown into the water or telling others not to do it. I’ve had much less junk floating up to my dock.

Had a call the other morning from a nice lady who said she had just gotten a call from her sister who was driving down Davit and said she could not see the swan’s head and was afraid it had been injured and to please call and tell me. I explained to the lady to let her sister know that when the swans sleep – whether on land or in the water – they tuck their head under a wing and I was sure it was fine. At that moment I looked out from my balcony and the swan was coming over to my dock, so I told her to say many thanks to her sister for watching out for the swans.

I also had a call from a nice lady, Sue, who had read that I had “lost” my Cockatiel. She said she had a friend who had just gotten a Cockatoo from a Vet friend who couldn’t stand it’s continually talking and now the friend was going stir-crazy also. I would love to have had it, but being 3 or 4 times larger than my Cockatiel I wasn’t sure I could handle it. My daughter gave me a great suggestion – that I passed on to Sues friend that perhaps there was an assisted-living facility or a Senior center nearby where I’m sure they all would love to talk with the bird. Haven’t heard back yet.

For the past few months I’ve had a very nice gesture from someone: my morning paper is being tossed over my gate near my front door. Being disabled this has really been great as it is only a few steps away and also whenever the weather has been bad the wrapper is tightly knotted around the paper. I left a very nice ‘thank you card’ the person took so I am waiting to find out just who is doing this generous thing.

In the event you are wondering why our median signboards have been blank it’s because refurbishing them is going on. I’ve had a number of calls and e-mails about up-coming events from those wondering if I didn’t have anything to put up. I’m very happy to hear that you all do read them! And by the time you receive this issue of the Pilot the signs should be finished – hopefully in time for the Halloween Parade notice to get up, then for the Christmas decorations and Santa’s coming.

Since daylight savings time ended on the 1st of November, it is dark earlier – both morning and evenings – so please use care in driving – slow down, use your signal lights and remember if it is raining, when your windshield wipers are on your headlights MUST ALSO BE ON – don’t get a ticket. And, if you’re out walking or biking – please carry a flashlight of some kind. Even now in mid October at dusk I see people walking in dark clothes without any kind of light on them and it really makes it difficult for drivers to see them. Just be considerate – on both sides.

Have a great Thanksgiving and see you in December.

By Pat Dixon, Swan Lady, 591-5455