May events at Mission Valley Library
For more information:Mission Valley Branch Library2123 Fenton ParkwaySan Diego, CA 92108858-573-5007All City Libraries will be CLOSED on Monday, May 29th, in observance of Memorial Day.May EventsDate: Tuesdays, May 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30, 2023Time: 4:00 – 5:00 p.m.Title: Chess ClubHave you always wanted to learn how to play chess or improve your skills? If you have never played before, or are just looking for someone to practice with, join us for some friendly competition! All supplies are provided.Audience: Recommended for elementary school-aged children through adults.Dates: Thursdays, May 4, 11, 18 and 25, 2023Time: 10:30 a.m. Title: Toddler and Preschool StorytimeDescription: Recommended for ages 2-5, this storytime program includes books, songs, games, and early literacy fun! Audience: ChildrenDate: Tuesday, May 9, 2023Time: 11:30 a.m.Title: Learn to Weave! For Kids and Teens Learn how to weave with an expert textile artist and develop your art and math skills! This class is targeted to homeschooling youth ages 10+. No prior experience is required, and all materials will be provided. Registration is required! Visit sandiego.librarymarket.com for more information. Audience: This program is recommended for children ages 10+Date: Saturday, May 13, 2023Time: 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.Title: Dia de los Niños Kids Concert and Festivities!Join us for a music concert with Hullabaloo, followed by crafts, piñatas, and face-painting, all in honor of Día de los Niños! No registration is required. Thanks to the Friends of the Mission Valley Library for their financial support of this program.Audience: Recommended for ages 3-10.Date: Tuesday, May 23, 2023Time: 11:30 a.m.Title: Learn to Weave! For Kids and Teens Learn how to weave with an expert textile artist and develop your art and math skills! This class is targeted to homeschooling youth ages 10+. No prior experience is required, and all materials will be provided. Registration is required! Visit sandiego.librarymarket.com for more information. Audience: This program is recommended for children ages 10+Date: Thursday, May 25, 2023Time: 11:30 a.m.Title: Mission Valley Friends of the Library Monthly Meeting Come learn about how the Mission Valley Friends of the Library support our mission! This meeting is both in-person and on Zoom. If you would like a Zoom link so that you can participate, please email MissionValleyFriends@gmail.com.Audience: This event is recommended for adults. Children are welcome!
Bridle Trail a walk along the wild side of Highway 163
The first time that I ever walked on the Bridle Trail, starting on the south end right behind Nate’s Dog Park, was with a photographers’ meetup five years ago one summer evening. We opened the gate to the dog park and with dogs running up to us, hoping to make new friends, we walked straight across and opened two more gates. It was like stepping into a secret passageway through a tangle of trees, with the iconic California Tower in the background.Trees along the trail make a popular photo spot.A few weeks ago, that same trailhead looked like a scene from a children’s fantasy, with garland daisies growing as tall as me and my husband as we stepped onto the trail. Slowly curving down and around, the path makes its way right alongside Highway 163. Though the hustle and bustle of traffic was just yards away, critters of all kinds, from squirrels to lizards to birds, were busily finding food and shelter among the trees. Sour Grass flowers beamed bright yellow among the lush green grass.A black fuzzy caterpillar – one of many on the trail during March.When we found ourselves directly below the arches of the Cabrillo Bridge, we had to stop and gaze at the architectural marvel. I remembered the first time I drove beneath the bridge on the highway at night when I first moved to San Diego. The lights on the bridge as I drove under the arches were like a kingly welcome.Walking on the Bridle Trail, named for the paths that once attracted equestrian enthusiasts, is a surreal experience. The cars and trucks zoomed by us while squirrels zig-zagged among the grasses. On the trail, we found several wooly bear caterpillars. At the top of trees, Anna’s hummingbirds gleamed like miniature rainbows in the sunlight.A small redwood forest, from trees planted during the 1915 Panama-California Exposition in San Diego, was long part of the attraction to the trail. However, the grove was cut down in 2018 after dying from a lack of water. As a result, there are some holes in the view towards the sky from the loss of trees, yet the trail still holds much charm.We did have to plot our steps carefully along much of the trail because of all the recent rains. I likened it to trudging through thick lava mud cake. Much of the trail is up and down, providing a good cardio workout for those who want it. Yet this time of year, it’s hard not to take a break and gaze at the sun sparkling through groves of trees. There are plenty of detour paths off the main trail leading up to lots of places to explore the nooks and crannies in back of the park.A California Ground Squirrel perched on the fence around the Marston House.An abandoned exit ramp from one of the streets in Hillcrest provides an unobstructed view of the traffic going both ways right under us. I was reminded of scenes from modern sci-fi thriller movies as rabbits and squirrels high-tailed it out of our way as fast as possible while the cacophony of traffic rushed below us. We soon left the abandoned ramp and tiptoed through the mud back to the trail.The Cabrillo Bridge looks magnificent from the Bridle Trail.The final steep incline led us to the enormous lawn and yard of the Marston House. We were greeted by a black phoebe darting among the trees for insects and a fox squirrel, basking in the sun, perched on the fence. Tall pine, eucalyptus and oak trees reached to the skies, providing refreshing shade for us. We breathed deep the good air, thankful for a nice hike with lots of surprises.The entire trail, which is about two miles and can begin at either end — Nate’s Dog Park or the Marston House — took us about an hour, including stops to admire the bridge and views, the trees and wildlife. It’s a walk on the wild side of Highway 163, not to be missed.
Traffic safety campaign launches with posters at intersections where people died
Katie Gordon stands beside the poster that hangs at the intersection where her husband, Jason Gordon, was killed. (Photo by Juri Kim)On March 18, Families for Safe Streets San Diego and the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition launched a traffic safety campaign, “Our neighbor was killed here.”Volunteers gathered at the Bicycle Coalition office at 9 a.m. before dispersing around the city to hang posters at the locations of every crash that killed a bicyclist or pedestrian since 2021. The posters include QR codes connected to a webpage where the viewers can easily email Mayor Todd Gloria and their council member to request more funding for traffic safety.“Despite the City of San Diego’s pledge to eliminate traffic fatalities by 2025, more people are dying on San Diego’s streets than ever before,” said Will Rhatigan, Advocacy Director for the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition. “We hope that this campaign will serve as a visual reminder to all San Diegans that when we fail to build safe sidewalks, bike lanes, and intersections, our neighbors are killed. We know that safe streets save lives, and we are calling on Mayor Todd Gloria and the San Diego City Council to invest in the proven road safety measures that will prevent any other families from losing their loved ones to crashes.”While this crisis of traffic violence has impacted people in every walk of life, it has hurt cyclists, pedestrians, and wheelchair users the most. Between 2012 and 2021, the number of pedestrians killed in San Diego County nearly doubled, from 58 to 101. In the 2021, the number of cyclists killed in San Diego County reached 17, setting the highest bicycle fatality rate of any large county in California.The campaign is intended to spread awareness of the growing epidemic of vulnerable road users being killed on the streets of San Diego and show public support for ending traffic deaths.One of the volunteers, Katie Gordon, lost her husband in a traffic collision three years ago. Her twin children were one years old at that time.“We need more comfortable walking and biking places,” said Gordon. “I don’t want him to be forgotten. This tragic experience should not be repeated to other families.”Another widow spoke out at the event about losing her spouse.“No family should have to experience the pain that we will carry for life and when it comes to traffic deaths, it is nearly 100% preventable,” said Laura Keenan, founder of the Families for Safe Streets San Diego chapter. “We hope that elected officials will use our voices and stories to help them push through needed changes in a sadly contentious space. We also hope that our voices can unify the community and refocus the conversation away from parking spaces, travel lanes, or traffic congestion towards what really matters: saving lives.”While the causes of increasing traffic fatalities are complex–including heavier vehicles and distracted driving–the solutions are clear, according to these activists. Installing a protected bikeway on an urban road can reduce crashes by over 80%. Replacing a stoplight with a roundabout can reduce fatal or serious injury-causing crashes by 80%. While the risk of death for a pedestrian or cyclist is only 10% when hit by a car traveling 23 miles per hour (mph), that risk increases to 50% when a car is traveling 42 mph. Lowering speeds in the places people bike and walk saves lives.To begin saving lives in San Diego immediately, Families for Safe Streets San Diego and the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition asked the Mayor and City Council to commit to three actions in the emails sent from the poster QR cordes:Double the funding for San Diego’s quick-build bikeways program in Fiscal Year 2024, to enable it to build 18 miles of connected, protected bikeways each year.In Fiscal Year 2024, upgrade 15 of San Diego’s most deadly intersections with lead pedestrian intervals, high-visibility crosswalks, and other lifesaving safety measures.By the end of 2023, approve an updated Bicycle Master Plan that follows NACTO’s Guidelines for building bike facilities for people of all ages and abilities, and commit to strict deadlines for implementation.
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