August 30, 2007

ValleyViewpoints

Time to slow down, speeding is dangerous

Editor,
I moved to Almaden Valley six months ago. I was shocked to see the speed limit on Old Almaden Road is 40 mph. From Almaden Expressway you take right onto Old Almaden Road and you will see several houses on both sides of the road.

To start with, 40 mph in a residential neighborhood is very unsafe. On top of that, drivers’ speeds go from 50 mph upward. I read the article from Councilmem-ber Nancy Pyle mourning the tragedy on Graystone Lane. It underscores how important we set strict speed limits, but should also enforce them strictly in the residential neighborhoods.

I made a request to reduce the speed limit by leaving a voicemail to the Traffic Division. So far I have not heard back from them. What would it take to get attention of elected officials and traffic police to get this resolved?

I am sending a copy of this e-mail to Ms. Pyle’s office and I hope they appoint a traffic council to study our safety. In our street, a lot of kids play freely on the road, and it is scary to see cars zoom by ignoring the already unsafe 40 mph.

I would like to reduce the speed limit to 25 mph and also have a police officer periodically give citations for offenders bringing awareness in those who speed in this neighborhood.

Naga Pappireddi
Almaden

Shrinking the tax gap will take more than new stores, improvements

Editor,
City Councilmember Nancy Pyle wants to find ways to close the annual per capita sales tax gap between San Jose ($82) and Palo Alto ($222). One program aimed at increasing retail sales is the city’s “investment” to improve the Via Valiente shopping center’s signage in an attempt to draw more shoppers to the facility. The new Whole Foods grocery store may also be a net generator of sales tax revenue.

However, how much can a revitalized Via Valente shopping center and the Whole Foods Market help to close the sales tax gap? I believe an improved PW Markets store and Whole Foods will do little in that many of the items they sell are tax- exempt groceries.

As for trying to get more upscale stores, we see where Nordstrom and Emporium failed while Sears, Costco and Home Depot flourish. The reason is obvious: San Jose’s per capita income compares very unfavorably with Palo Alto and its surrounding cities.

I believe the city fails to see or wishes to ignore the obvious: the city’s spending is out of control. According to the Mercury News, the city needs $900 million to eliminate the backlog of deferred maintenance to the city’s infrastructure.

These costs are in addition to the city’s ongoing budget deficits. The council needs to find ways to provide essential services more efficiently and to eliminate programs targeted for special interests, like housing programs for teachers or subsidies to ethnic-centric programs. Efficiency enhancements include (a) the use of non-union labor when it is cost-effective to do so; (b) salary increases based more on performance and less on seniority and (c) increased health care cost shifts to employees and retirees. It is way past time to convert city pensions to defined contribution plans from defined benefit plans.

Jerry Mungai
Almaden

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