Issue date: April 21, 1999
By MARION SOFTKY
Hamburger wrappers, beer and soda bottles, cigarette butts, Styrofoam cups, pieces of wood, cut brush, broken plaster, bent wire, an old ping-pong paddle. The new grass masks some of it, but the verges of Portola and Alpine roads still yield lots of mess.
"You don't see it as well from a car," says Mary Smith, who has become sensitized to roadside mess over the years she has walked and jogged through town. "You see it walking jogging, riding a bike."
Litter has become Ms. Smith's personal crusade. Rather than get upset, the 20-year resident decided to do something. She wrote letters to the Town Council; she appeared at a meeting last summer. Now, she's been appointed to the Traffic Committee and is organizing Portola Valley's first litter clean-up day this Saturday.
"Keep PV Litter Free" banners at Town Center and Ford Field invite residents to come to Town Hall, 765 Portola Road, Saturday April 24, between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. to help clean up town roadsides and facilities.
Every home also received a flier signed by Mayor Craig Brown and illustrated by frogs, mushrooms and birds drawn by artist Jane Gallagher.
The town will provide coffee and refreshments to volunteers who help pick up litter along Portola and Alpine roads.
Bags and disposable gloves will be available for collecting litter, and Los Altos Garbage Company is providing a dumpster for litter collected.
Ms. Smith and Traffic Committee Chairman Wil Patterson also hope residents along other streets will clean up roads in front of their property. They can come to Town Hall for bags, gloves and disposal. "If everyone just did their own property, it would be a great help," she said.
Ms. Smith and her committee, including Mr. Patterson, Agnes Babcock, Chris Buja and Mark Mordell, have garnered support from the community, including two gifts of $550 each, and $1,000 from Los Altos Garbage Co. Caltrans "Adopt-a-Highway" program is lending safety vests and donating garbage bags. Ms. Smith's husband is providing the T-shirts.
Much of the litter comes from construction trucks, and debris from day workers eating lunch in town, they say. "A lot of it blows off of trucks," says Mr. Patterson.
To volunteer, call Ms. Smith at 851-2413, or Mr. Patterson at 851-7152.
© 1999 The Almanac. All Rights Reserved.