STREET SCENE: Monteverde Drive

Give most any kid a decent skateboard, drop them off at the top of Monteverde Drive at DePalma Drive (right side of the street) and they'll fly down the sidewalk free and clear for at least a quarter mile, all the way past Redmond Avenue. Making sure to watch for cars as you cross the busy street, Monteverde then continues on for another block down to Almaden Valley Drive.

While on a skateboard or just driving along in the car, the passing blur will be mostly green. You see, Monteverde lives up to the English translation from Spanish which is “green hills.' Tall trees line both sides of the street and large two-story homes are lushly landscaped and carefully kept. The drive neatly cuts through the “Montevideo” neighborhood that softly hugs the foothills of Almaden Valley, just uphill from Oak Canyon. A few homes are for sale, but mostly on the steeper stretch near DePalma Drive.

Home prices range between $595,500 and $1.2 million.

At first glance, it doesn't seem like much is going on along the upper middle class stretch. But, of course, there are some problems.

Longtime resident Nikki Henry has lived in the same bright house about halfway down Monteverde since 1966. She loves her home, but says “speeding has just been a continuing problem. We have had more accidents on this corner (Monteverde at Montelegre Drive). A lot of them come out of Los Rios and then start escalating.” Henry would like to see stepped-up police patrols. “This is ridiculous. When (the police) will find (most speeders) is between the hours of 6 p.m. and midnight.”

Her neighbor up the street, Anne Stivers, agrees. Stivers is a 10-year resident of Monteverde Drive. She is employed at nearby Guadalupe Elementary School as the homework center coordinator.

She says a new stop sign was installed a few months ago at the corner of Monteverde and Vera Cruz, where a yield sign used to be. “More and more young families are moving into the neighborhood,” she points out. She says the stop sign has helped with safety.

Their concern is shared by the “Montevideo Homeowner's Association.” Newly elected president Don Whiting holds monthly meetings at the nearby clubhouse. The group regularly discusses ways to improve conditions throughout the neighborhood, including speeding and petty crime, such as auto burglary and vandalism. Homeowners must belong to the organization in order to buy a home in the area and most are involved in the attempt to improve things.

But residents stay above the fray with holiday activities like the Fourth of July parade, which closes down the streets, including Monteverde Drive, for a citizen's show of patriotism. Anyone and everyone from the area can participate and there's usually a good cross-section of marchers of all ages.

As Halloween approaches, many homes along the drive have “Boo” signs in their front windows. Anne Stivers says it's a tradition for neighbors to anonymously “Boo” each other with a Halloween gift left on their front door step, including a “Boo” sign to put in their window. The gifts usually include an assortment of Halloween candy, novelties and more to either pass out to trick-or-treaters or to keep for themselves. Stivers says she's unsure exactly who started the trend, but thinks it might have been several young families at the top of the street.

Another holiday tradition is being threatened by apparent tree rot. Nikki Henry's front yard Christmas tree was planted way back in December of 1966 by her brothers as a present for her new home. It's now more than 40 feet tall and holds lights that stay in place year round, but are only powered up during the holiday season. Standing out on her curb, Mrs. Henry sadly points to brownish limbs about two-thirds up the tree, which could threaten its life. If a certain type of tree rot can't be dealt with in an inexpensive and timely manner, Nikki says she may have to cut down the tree. She says it would be a big blow to her neighbors, who are used to the mammoth holiday pine and its twinkling lights throughout the month of December.

And, its loss would certainly put a large hole in the “green blur” you experience while passing by on a flying skateboard any time of year.