Crosswalks on Verano Avenue one step closer
New crosswalks across Verano Avenue to Maxwell Farms Regional Park, the area in which a pedestrian was killed last year, are now under study at the county level. “It’s a need that’s been a long time coming,” Supervisor Valerie Brown told the Sun. For safety proponent Jim Cahoon, the upgrades can’t come soon enough.
Cahoon presented to Brown last week a petition for improvements along that traffic corridor. His mother-in-law, Constancia Morsiquillo, was struck by a car and killed as she crossed the street to the park last April.
The petition had 1,564 signatures, Cahoon said, “and I could have easily gotten 3,000 more. People are not happy about the situation.”
The improvements are long overdue, he said. “Conditions that are dangerous to the lives of old people and children have existed for years. It’s been absolutely ignored by the county.”
Brown said the safety issue “has long been a concern of mine.” She said the plan, initiated before she received the petition, is to install two crosswalks, one by the bridge and one parallel to the Boys & Girls Clubs. Those points are the most used by pedestrians – including children, families and seniors – to access the sports fields, the Boys & Girls Clubs and the shopping center.
Each new crosswalk would have embedded blinking lights. Stop signs or traffic lights are not under consideration.
The issue is under study at the Sonoma County Department of Public Works, which will evaluate plans and costs. The prospect of this bureaucratic process, which offers no specific timeline for completion, frustrated Cahoon. “A blind man could see what needs to be done,” he said. “They study it to death rather than doing what needs to be done.”
Brown said she is in league with the community concerns. “We are on the same page as far as making some significant improvements,” Brown said. “There’s a need to do something as soon as possible”
Chamber holds e-mail marketing workshop
Businesses looking to creating e-mail marketing campaigns which get results can learn how at an upcoming Sonoma Valley Chamber of Commerce workshop.
“Best Practices in E-Mail Marketing for Entrepreneurs, Small Business, and Nonprofits” will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 2 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Krug Event Center at the Sonoma Valley Inn.
E-mail marketing can be a key component of an overall marketing or customer communications strategy. Suitable for all experience levels, this session will teach participants how to master e-mail marketing communications. The workshop covers best practices and winning strategies for getting and keeping quality subscribers, increasing deliverability and open rates, writing good headlines and content, saving time, getting readers to take action, and measuring results.
Workshop instructor Stu Carty is a sales and marketing specialist with more than 20 years of experience in the enterprise software industry. Carty has served as both a consultant and senior executive with several software start-ups and small businesses, helping to define and launch their sales and marketing programs. Carty is currently a Regional Development Director at Constant Contact.
This workshop is sponsored by the Sonoma Valley Chamber of Commerce and hosted by the Sonoma Valley Inn. Registration fee is $10 for chamber members and $25 for non-members. Advance registration is required and can be made by calling the chamber at 996.1033.
