Corte Madera and Larkspur, your property values and your quality of life will be affected by what's happening in twon... it's time to
Wake up and smell the future!
As I sat at a recent Corte Madera Women’s Club meeting, listening to long-term residents discuss ongoing issues, it occurred to me that this moment in time is critical for our community. So many important things are being proposed all at once that it’s difficult for anyone to stay on top of them. As one member put it, “It seems like someone is in a hurry to turn our small town into a big city.”
So if you find yourself snuggled up comfortably, hibernating under a rock, it may be time to wake up, stick your head out and smell the future! Please consider showing up, or writing your views, or talking to neighbors, or all of the above. The future of your town is taking shape right now, with or without you.
Rec Center Redux (or is that “Wreck Center”?) January 29, 6:30 pm at the Rec Center.
This planning process has become controversial for many reasons. The current consultants say they are unaware of the history of last decade’s recreation center proposals, which I won’t delve into here, but suffice it to say that using large portions of Town Park’s green space for new buildings and parking lots will meet with some objection. The $24 million plan also calls for Town Park’s remaining soccer fields to become a “regional soccer center” which will additionally worry those who already think we give away our park much too generously to the rest of the county. Finally, the “master plan” ignores the town’s recent acquisition of the Park Madera Center. People who have been following this issue encourage you to please show up and speak up, before further taxpayer money is invested in paving paradise.
Want to build a new police station? How big? For how much?
No meeting is scheduled on this plan yet, but both councils have endorsed the concept of asking Twin Cities’ voters to pay for a $16+ million, 15,000 square foot new police station for the Twin Cities Police. Everyone seems to be in agreement that the 1972 portable building has outlived its useful life (by at least a couple of decades), but do we really need a police station that is almost as big as last decade’s proposed Recreation Center, which was going to be 17,000 square feet? This footprint was thought to be too large for an entire community center, so how can we now justify creating this much space to house our police department? I’m not sure what kind of facilities are planned for the new police station, but maybe some could be shared as part of a community center. For instance, if there is a workout gym (which was being discussed during the last go-round), maybe this could be a shared facility with the community? Working out next to a police officer (as many people do now at Gold’s Gym) seems to be a good thing, a way to keep our excellent law enforcement team integrated into the community. And it might be a smart way to win passage of either a bond or parcel tax, of which the likelihood is currently being explored by a survey firm.
There’s another question here, about which comes first, the police station or the recreation center? Unlikely the community would approve both at once. Priorities, priorities. It is your job to help the town set them.
Where goeth our libraries? Tuesday, January 16th, 7 pm at the Corte Madera library.
This public hearing is part of a county-wide exploration to determine long-term plans for our libraries. Apparently, library officials are concerned they are being rendered obsolete by the internet, but as some of the Women’s Club members agreed, there are things the libraries can and should be doing that computers can’t do: such as bringing people together for book groups, children’s storytimes, etc.
U.S. 101 “Improvements” being considered. Get your thoughts in now!
Some of the ideas for improving the Greenbrae/Corte Madera stretch of U.S. 101 make perfect sense: 1) find a way to link Bon Air and west Corte Madera, and east Corte Madera and Larkspur Landing, without having to get on the highway. 2) Create a better way to get on the northbound highway at the current Lucky/Cost Plus “fiasco” intersection. Then you read there are proposals to close Madera Avenue’s on and off ramps?. Why? Those ramps aren’t problems – ever – and closing the access would simply put more traffic onto local streets, many of which are primarily residential and already burdened with traffic congestion.
Many of us are likely to sit back, on all of these issues, and assume that the people in charge know best, and will do what’s right. If you need proof that “assuming” is indeed misguided thinking, look back to the creation of the current Wornum/Nellen configuration, which did nothing more than create a maze of dead ends and meandering pathways that get jammed with rush hour traffic. The current effort is being brought to you by the same people, or at the very least, by people with the same credentials.
To register your opinions about this project, contact project manager Bill Whitney at bwhitney@co.marin.ca.us or 507-2810 or P.O. Box 4186, San Rafael CA 94913-4186.
Common sense is always in short supply. If you have some, please share it.
If you really don’t have an opinion about any of these things, well, I guess you can go ahead and snuggle up under that comforter of yours and pray you won’t wake up to a world that’s more like Walnut Creek or LA than down home Mayberry. Yikes, I forgot to mention plans to expand the Village. A recent phone survey of residents mentioned a five-story apartment building and a double-decker parking structure. On the marsh? As my girls would say, “OMG!”
Next thing you know, someone will want to put a huge big box retailer at…oops, we’re a little too late for that. Please, write to me with what you know, and what you think. I need help staying on top of it all, and I also need to know whether you want me to continue to hurl flaming torches into the air to defend the homeland.
Your hopelessly devoted watchdog,
Neighbor Pat
Write me at pravasio@fhallen.com
