Tiger Tracks Tips

Tiger Tracks publishes a weekly tip in Montclaire’s Friday Newsletter. Here are our tips for the 2003/2004 and 2002/2003 school years.

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01/09/2004

Did you get a speeding ticket this week? There's a good reason for it: Santa Clara County law enforcement agencies, including the Los Altos Police Department, participated in Operation Safe Passage, a campaign to strictly enforce traffic laws around school zones. According to the Traffic Safe Communities Network, the purpose of the campaign is to allow safer passage to school, and to "improve conditions for increasing physical activity, such as walking and bicycling for transportation, exercise, or pleasure, into the daily routines of both children and adults."

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12/19/2004

Thank you to all you walkers, bicyclists, bus riders, and carpoolers who are improving safety and helping the environment by minimizing traffic around Montclaire. Have a happy, healthy holiday, and please consider adding this to your list of New Year's Resolutions: "I resolve to walk to school at least 3 days a week."

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12/05/2004

Don't let threatening rain clouds dampen your journey to school! With the right gear, walking to school in the rain can be a fun adventure. Invest in waterproof boots and a brightly-colored raincoat with a hood (umbrellas can be cumbersome, especially if it's windy). Put fenders on your bicycle to prevent "mud tails." Protect your homework by putting it in a plastic bag inside your backpack.

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11/18/2003

The pedestrian pathway that connects Citation Dr. to Via Huerta is now blocked by a locked gate. If you use this route to walk or bike to school, contact LaNae Avra (lanae@avras.com, 650-961-6977) for information on how to get a key to the gate.

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11/07/2003

What will happen if a child accidentally wanders, runs, falls, or is pushed into the path of your moving car? If you are travelling 40 mph, that child has a mere 15 percent chance of survival. At 30 mph, those odds increase to 45 percent. By contrast, there is an 85 percent chance of survival if you are travelling 20 mph. Driving slower saves lives, especially on residential streets and around schools. Better yet, park your car in your driveway, and walk or bike to school with your children, and visit http://www.keepkidsalive.com to order signs that will remind your neighbors to "Keep Kids Alive, Drive 25."

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10/31/2003

Many parents drive their children to school because "it’s convenient" or "it’s on the way" or "we’re running late." Consider what’s good for your children rather than what’s convenient for you. Thirty years ago, more than 66% of American children walked to school, and 4% of elementary-age children were overweight. Today only 13% of American children walk or bike to school, and 15% of elementary-age children are overweight.

Think these statistics aren't relevant to Montclaire? How about this: Two years ago, only 67% of Montclaire's 5th-graders tested in the "Healthy Fitness Zone" for aerobic capacity. We ranked 15th out of the 20 elementary schools in our district and a distant last out of Los Altos elementary schools, which averaged 82% of students in the healthy zone.

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10/24/2003

According to bicycle accident statistics compiled by the AAA, bicyclists are safest if they follow these 5 rules:

Don’t dart out of driveways or from between parked cars.
Stop at all stop signs.
Don’t swerve when looking over your shoulder.
When on the street or in the bike lane, ride on the right.
Always wear a helmet!

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10/10/2003

Joanna Malvino, the crossing guard at the intersection of Grant Rd. and Morton Ave., is concerned about Montclaire students who are crossing Grant Rd. after her shift has ended. Please be sure that your children reach this crosswalk before 8:20am and 3:20pm. Besides being dangerous, if you cross after 8:20am, you will probably be late for school!

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010/03/2003

There is safety in numbers, according to results recently published in the "Injury Prevention" online journal. "A motorist is less likely to collide with a person walking or bicycling if more people walk or bicycle. Policies that increase the number of people walking and bicycling appear to be an effective route to improving the safety of people walking and bicycling."

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09/26/2003

Hey Montclaire: Spare the Air! Auto emissions are the largest cause of air pollution in California. Not only do walkers and bicyclists generate no pollution, they also breathe less pollution than people inside an idling or slow moving car.

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09/19/2003

It’s time to get ready for International Walk-to-School Day, which is Wednesday, October 8! Try out your route to school now, then fill out a Walkability or Bikeability Checklist. We’ll collect the checklists on Walk-to-School Day, and we’ll use your suggestions to work with the city to make safety improvements.

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09/12/2003

Please notify Tiger Tracks if your child is injured or nearly injured while walking or biking to or from school. Send email to lanae@avras.com, and include as much information as possible about the cause of the problem. We will convey this information to the City in an effort to get improvements to unsafe pedestrian and bicycle routes to Montclaire.

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08/29/2003

Are overgrown shrubs or trees causing a safety hazard on your route to school? The first, and often fastest, solution is to talk to the property owner. Most don’t realize that their landscaping could be a hazard to pedestrians or bicyclists. If that fails, contact the following people, depending upon the location of the problem:

City of Los Altos: Vivian Ma, Assistant Engineer, vivian.ma@ci.los-altos.ca.us
Unincorporated Santa Clara County: Masoud Akbarzadeh, Manager Traffic Engineering & Operations, masoud.akbarzadeh@rda.co.santa-clara.ca.us
When sending email, be sure to provide as much detail as possible about the problem, including the exact location, and the risk to your child's safety in getting to and from school.

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05/30/2003

Now that good weather is here to stay, it’s time to dust off your bike and ride it to school. The following equipment will make your bike ride safer:

Helmet – Mandatory!
Head light, flashing tail light, bright clothing - to make you more visible to cars.
Handlebar bell - to notify pedestrians when you intend to pass.

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05/09/2003

Most Montclaire students live less than a mile from school. Walking or biking that distance takes less than 15 minutes, but allow yourself 20 so you have time to talk to friends and neighbors along the way.

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05/02/2003

The deadline for public comment on Santa Clara County’s "Comprehensive County Expressway Planning Study" is May 14. Good news for Montclaire students: the plan proposes pedestrian improvements to the Grant/Foothill/St. Joseph intersection. Bad news for Cupertino Middle students: the plan does not include any pedestrian or bicycle improvements to the Foothill/Homestead intersection. View the plan at http://www.expressways.info, then send your suggestions for making it safer for your kids to walk or bike to school to expressways@ccsoffice.com by May 14.

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04/18/2003

Here’s a great family activity for spring break: explore the beautiful bicycle pathways in the Bay Area:

Stevens Creek Trail (www.stevenscreektrail.org) – start at Landel’s Elementary School in Mountain View and ride your bike all the way to the bay.
Los Gatos Creek Trail (www.parkhere.org -> Find a Park -> Los Gatos Creek) – 9 miles of trail, from Los Gatos to San Jose, through Vasona Park and Los Gatos Creek Park.
Coyote Creek Parkway (www.parkhere.org -> Find a Park -> Coyote Creek Parkway) – 15 miles of trail, running south along Coyote Creek from Coyote Hellyer Park in San Jose.

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04/11/2003

Montclaire crossing guards do much more than stop traffic so pedestrians can safely cross the street. They teach the children (and some adults) essential pedestrian safety rules. They keep a watchful eye on the children as they make their way to school. They even remind children to zip up their jackets on cold and rainy days. Please take a moment to say a kind word of thanks to our wonderful crossing guards!

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04/04/2003

Walking school buses are a fun, healthy, and safe way to travel to school. Montclaire has one that leaves for school from the corner of Ben Roe and Austin at 8:05am on Tue, Thu, and Fri. Feel free to join us at any point along the route, or talk to your neighbors about starting your own bus.

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03/28/2003

Children who don’t feel safe riding their bikes on busy streets such as Grant RD and St. Joseph AV are allowed to ride on the sidewalk as long as they yield to pedestrians and walk their bike through the crosswalks.

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03/21/2003

Students who are late to school not only miss out on valuable learning time, they disrupt the rest of the class. Don’t risk tardiness by being stuck in your car in the morning gridlock on St. Joseph. Walk or ride bike to school - there’s no traffic in the bike lanes or on the sidewalk!

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03/14/2003

Establish 7:30am-8:30am and 2:30pm-3:30pm as car-free time zones for your household. Ask contractors and gardeners to arrive at your house before 7:30am or after 8:30am. Adjust your morning commute to work if possible. Schedule your errands outside of these times. Let’s reduce the number of cars on the road when children are walking to school.

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03/07/2003

An automobile requires a total stopping distance of:

69 feet at 20 mph
123 feet at 30 mph
189 feet at 40 mph
Visit http://www.keepkidsalive.com/ to find yard signs and trash can decals that will remind your neighbors to: "Keep Kids Alive - Drive 25!"

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02/28/2003

Conversations with your children are much more pleasant face-to-face than through a rear-view mirror. Walk your children home from school and find out how their day really went.

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02/14/2003

Is your route to school hampered by vegetation? Don't get out the clippers yet! Contact the following people at the city for a trim request:

Vivian Ma, Assistant Engineer: vivian.ma@ci.los-altos.ca.us
Brian McCarthy, Maintenance Manager: Brian.mccarthy@ci.los-altos.ca.us
Sending email to both Vivian and Brian works best. Be sure to give them as much detail as you can about the problem, including the risk to your child's safety in getting to and from school.