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Young members of the community, students in Dawn Tull’s 4th and 5th grade class at Monterey Hills Elementary School to be exact, have concerns about a short thoroughfare in the city used by many walkers and hikers of all ages.
The youngsters, many of whom have used the path, are urging community leaders to make improvements to the Snake Trail, some pointing out that it lacks maintenance, is dark at night, needs new plantings, is full of trash, is too steep in spots, and could use more handrails and stairs.
The path, not known for its snakes, but for its snakelike turns, sends hikers from the lower reaches of the city to the Monterey Hills area – or vice versa. Those coming down it will find the trail ending at Rollin Street behind South Pasadena High School. Going up, it cuts off the long distance of going up the steep climb of Via Del Rey as an alternative, putting walkers in the same vicinity by meandering up the trail.
Tull’s class assignment was designed to provide an avenue for students to voice their opinion about the trail and hopefully get a reaction from city staff, councilmembers, commissioners and community residents who might want to assist in a remedy.
The following are a collection of letters from Dawn Tull’s 4th and 5th grade class at Monterey Hills Elementary School:
To Whom It May Concern,
I am a fourth grader at Monterey Hills School and I have concerns about the Snake Trail. The Snake Trail is very dark at night and it is very easy to fall due to cracks and leaves. The Snake Trail needs cameras, and a repave. A groundskeeper is also a good idea. There also is a lot of trash that needs to be cleaned up. The walls need a repaint because they have cracking paint.
Sincerely, Jasper
To Whom it May Concern,
I’m a student at Monterey Hills School and I’m concerned about the Snake Trail. I think you should repave the ground, add lights, and add trashcans.
Sincerely, Jesse
To Whom it May Concern,
I am a fifth grader at Monterey Hills Elementary School. My classmates and I are concerned about the Snake Trail in South Pasadena. The trail can be unsafe sometimes, and multiple people have fallen or gotten hurt. Some possibilities to make the Snake Trail safer include adding some lights for the nighttime. This will make it easier to see and get around in the dark. More stairs should be added, and the path should be repaved. This may help prevent people or strollers from tripping. The rails on the Snake Trail are not connected and unsafe. We should add more so that no one falls. In case someone does, a little first aid kit with bandages, alcohol wipes, cotton balls, cotton swabs, and Neosporin would be helpful. Additionally, for parents who don’t trust the Snake Trail, security cameras should be added. Lastly, trash cans at the ends of the trail can help prevent litter.
Sincerely, Paris 🙂
To Whom it May Concern,
I’m in 4th grade at Monterey Hills School. I am concerned about the Snake Trail. It gets really dark at night so you should add lights. People slip a lot so you should repave and move the leaves.
Sincerely, Danny
To Whom It May Concern,
I’m a 4th grader at Monterey Hills School and I’m concerned about the Snake Trail. I think it could be fixed because there are not enough rails and stairs. You should put trash cans , lights, first aid kits, new plants, repaint walls, add fencing, repave, trim trees, and a caution sign.
Sincerely, Caleb
To whom it May Concern,
I go to Monterey Hills School. I am in the 5th grade. I’m concerned about the Snake Trail, and all the problems regarding it. I’ve seen people trip and fall. I think we need to repave the roads of the Snake Trail. At night it’s really dark. Adding lights wouldn’t be a bad idea. The biggest problem is the trash! We need trash cans and maybe a groundskeeper. Lastly, some parents are worried about the dangers of the Snake Trail, some cameras wouldn’t hurt.
Sincerely, Henry
To Whom it May Concern,
I’m a 5th grader in Monterey Hills School, also known as MHS. I have a few problems with the Snake Trail. First of all, the stairs are broken and sometimes even gone. Children, like me, could trip or get hurt trying to walk through the Snake Trail. Secondly, the railing is a problem. Again, children could get hurt, especially because of the bumps in the ground and chipped paint. People who have never heard of the Snake Trail could get lost because they can’t find the railing. The missing railing also ties in with this next problem, the lights. Since the Snake Trail is really dark at night, people could lose something or fall because of the steep ground. We can use lights to help guide people to the other side. Even though there are a lot more problems, I’ll only list three.
Sincerely, Johnny
To whom it May Concern,
I’m a 4th grader at Monterey Hills School and I’m concerned about the Snake Trail. People can fall on the Snake Trail so instead of hills you should put stairs. If someone falls you should have a first aid kit. Finally, you can put lights up so people can see in the dark.
Sincerely, Angelina
To Whom it May Concern,
I’m a 5th grader at Monterey Hills School and I have a concern about the Snake Trail. First, I saw trash in the Snake Trial that is a mess, so someone should pick up the trash to make it clean. The walls are gross on the Snake Trail and needed to be painted.
Sincerely, Jayden
To Whom it May Concern,
I am a 5th grader at Monterey Hills School and I am concerned about the Snake Trail. I think the Snake Trail should be repaved because many people have fallen there. I also think they should add cameras if there is a bad guy around. Next, I think they should add lights throughout the Snake Trail when it is dark and you can’t see anything. Finally, I think they should add a trash can because there is SO much trash around the Snake Trail.
Sincerely, CJ
To Whom it May Concern,
I am a 5th grader at Monterey Hills School and I’m concerned about the Snake Trail. I think we need lights in the Snake Trail because in the dark, it is really hard to see, so you don’t know where you’re going. The end of the Snake Trail is very steep, so I think we need stairs or rails because people might get hurt. I also think we need to improve in keeping the Snake Trail clean. There is so much trash there, so I think we should pick up after ourselves and add trashcans to throw away our trash. Thanks.
Sincerely, Khloe
To Whom it May Concern,
I’m a 5th grader at Monterey Hills School Elementary. I’m worried about the Snake Trail. First there definitely should be a first aid kit. I’ve fallen too many times without bandages. The bottom of the Snake Trail, connecting to Rollin, is very steep! I think there should be railings. Another reason is there are always pieces of trash. Maybe add trash cans. Even a water fountain for people would be nice! During the night it’s so dark! Maybe some dim lights, nothing to scare animals. There also should be cameras. Many parents say it is dangerous. Someone could also plant new plants. Thank you if you consider these ideas.
Sincerely, Jacob
To Whom it May Concern
I’m a fifth grader at Monterey Hills School and I’m concerned about the Snake Trail. Here are some of my concerns. First, add trashcans. Second, make the ground smooth because it is very bumpy and many kids trip. Finally, add cameras because many parents don’t feel comfortable letting their children use the Snake Trail.
Sincerely, Carter
To Whom it May Concern,
I am a fourth grader at Monterey Hills School, and I believe that there should be some adjustments at the Snake Trail. A few ideas that I believe could happen to improve it. First, there could be lights in case someone needs to go through at night and doesn’t have a flashlight or their phone. Secondly, perhaps you could put more railing for safety. Lastly, I was hoping you could put “no littering” signs.
Sincerely, Hope
To Whom it May Concern
I’m a fifth grade student at Monterey Hills School, and I’m concerned about the Snake Trail. It is concerning to me that there are no lights for when it gets dark, and it needs to have cameras so that they can find criminals. It also needs a new coat of paint, and new concrete.
Sincerely, Adrian
To Whom it May Concern,
I’m a 5th grader at Monterey Hills and I think there are some problems with the Snake Trail. There is too much trash on the ground. There should be more trashcans so no one litters on the ground and hurts the earth. They should add lights because if it turns dark you won’t be able to see. They also won’t be able to go home because of the dark. They should add smoother roads and sidewalks because it will cause people to trip and hurt themself.
Sincerely, Andre
To Whom It May Concern,
I am a fourth grader at Monterey Hills School and I have some concerns about the Snake Trail. My first concern is I think we need to pick up trash and maybe add trash cans. I also think we need to trim the trees. I think we need to repaint the walls and we should repave the ground because there are a lot of cracks and it’s all crumpled. I think it needs to be smooth. Next, we should add fencing and new plants. At night it is hard to see so we should add lights because someone could get hurt. For safety reasons we should add more rails and stairs because little kids could get hurt, but if we add railings they can hold onto that. We could add a ramp with railings. We should add caution signs because something bad could happen. In case someone gets hurt we could add a first aid kit to help. Finally, I think we should hire a yard duty person to make sure everything is okay.
To Whom It May Concern,
I’m a 4th grader at Monterey Hills School. I’m concerned about the Snake Trail. I think maybe you should add more handrails, more lights, and maybe more signs. There should also be trash cans and cameras.
Please consider my concerns about the Snake Trail.
Sincerely, Brayden
To Whom it May Concern,
I’m a fifth grade student at Monterey Hills Elementary School and I’m concerned about the Snake Trail. One problem is that at night it is very dark and dangerous. To solve this problem, I think we should add lights on the sides of the trail. Another problem is that there is a part that is very steep. To solve this problem, I think we should add stairs and maybe rails to that part of the trail.
Sincerely, Paul
To Whom it May Concern:
I am a 4th grader in Mrs. Tull’s class. I go to Monterey Hills School. I often go on the Snake Trail and there are some issues about it that I would like to share. Since the trail is bumpy and people can fall, we should put a first aid kit and repave the ground. There should be some more fencing. There should also be some more stairs with railings because people can fall. We need to pick up trash and repaint the walls because there are lots of germs. We should add some trash cans because there’s a lot of trash. We need more lights. Maybe you can hire a groundskeeper and add cameras. Thank you, South Pasadena!
Sincerely, Bianca
To Whom It May Concern,
I am a fourth grader in Mrs. Tull’s class at Monterey Hills Elementary. I am concerned about the Snake Trail. I think that you should add lights. It would make it a lot safer.
Sincerely, Ava
To Whom it May Concern,
I’m a 4th grader at Monterey Hills School and I’m concerned about the Snake Trail. One way to fix the Snake Trail is to clean up the trash. We want it to be clean. It would also be good to add lights because it’s dark at night. Finally, it’s important to smooth the ground because some people could fall.
Sincerely, Eli
To Whom it May Concern,
I’m a 4th grader at Monterey Hills School, and I have concerns about the Snake Trail. For instance, there are bumps almost everywhere, There are no lights on the trail, The end is steep, There aren’t many railings, There are leaves everywhere and it’s slippery when it’s raining. Can you add as many fences, rails, flat floors, trash cans, stairs, and other helpful things as possible? My last concern is about the paint on the walls. There is barely any paint on the walls. Can you add as much paint on the walls and shed the old paint off please?
Sincerely, Ellie
To Whom it May Concern,
I am a 4th grade student at Monterey Hills School and I am concerned about the Snake Trail. I think they should put more rails in the Snake Trail because if someone is walking by they can trip and fall. If someone old walked on the Snake Trail they could trip on a pebble or a rock and fall and not be able to catch themselves. That is why I think you should put more rails on the Snake Trail.
Thank you!
Sincerely, Harmony
To Whom it May Concern,
I’m a fourth grader at Monterey Hills School and I’m concerned about the Snake Trail. My first concern is that there are a lot of bumps and cracks and people trip on them all the time. My second concern is there aren’t enough railings. There are big gaps between them. Another problem is there should be lights for when people walk at night. My second to last concern is that there should be no littering signs. My last problem is there also should be trash cans because everywhere you look is basically trashed.
Sincerely, Luka
To Whom it May Concern,
I am a 4th grader at Monterey Hills Elementary School and I am concerned about the Snake Trail. First, it gets very, very, VERY, dark in the Snake Trail at night. I think we should put lampposts up to give the Snake Trail some light. Next, the Snake Trail is very steep and bumpy so people might trip and if they don’t have anything they will be stuck there. Also, all the bumps need to be fixed so I suggest repairing it. Finally, all the paint is peeling so the snake trail should be repainted, so it looks nice. Those are all my concerns about the Snake Trail.
Sincerely, Parker
