Letters to the Editor
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Editor:
Some 100 people wearing name tags wandered Park Street last Saturday, compliments of Chuck Kapelke, who created a 40-clue scavenger hunt that gently forced Park Street business to accept songs, questions, game playing, photo shoots, silliness and small purchases along the way. All this to honor his 40th birthday.
As a newcomer to Alameda, I appreciated the opportunity to explore some of Park Street’s treasures that I hardly even knew existed. Many of the merchants and employees had been prepped for the onslaught and others were taken a bit by surprise.
I want to thank the Park Street businesses for playing along in the game Kapelke created because it was great fun for us as participants. “I loved the periodic pockets of positivity provided by the party participants,” one merchant said. Can you guess which store that alliteration came from? I may have embellished it a bit; but it was the spirit of Books Inc.
Thank you, Chuck, for your cleverness, and thank you, Park Street, and the 40 or so participating merchants.
Editor:
I was disappointed with your article on the Shore Line bike lane project (“Shore Line Bike Lane Likely Moving Forward,” March 6). Even though there were the same number of people speaking for and against it, you focused almost exclusively on what the proponents had to say. The opponents had more concerns than just parking spaces, and they were very valid concerns.
The truth about the parking, which both your article and city staff have tried to downplay, is that the project will eliminate 30 percent of the existing parking spaces on Shore Line Drive.
The really troubling part is this fact, along with other problematic compromises, were not made known to the public or even the transportation commission. This stuff only came to light after more than a full year after the commission approved the project, and even then, the numbers were not spoken out loud! That was January.
This pattern of distortions and cover-ups was made known to the city council and City Manager John Russo who showed no concern at all. When people focus exclusively on results and ignore a corrupt process, it is sometimes called Machiavellian. Another way of putting it is, the ends justify the means.
Editor:
The Alameda/Oakland Ferry to San Francisco is great. I use it a lot. But it would be helpful if there were wide, designated bike lanes along Main Street leading to the Alameda Ferry Terminal. There are lots of ferry riders who take their bikes on the ferry. These bike riders are forced to share narrow Main Street and the surrounding streets.
It is dangerous, especially at night. They are hard to see.
