Blossom Valley, Mountain View

When Bob Bouchet moved into his home on Fordham Way in August of 1953, he joined an enthusiastic new community of young families in a brand-new tract housing development.

"We were all veterans just starting out working, all had small children, all had something in common," said Bouchet.

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Since that time he's seen children grow and neighbors come and go, but today Blossom Valley echoes those early days, as a new generation of young families fills the tree-lined streets with kids and comes together to build community.

Blossom Valley is comprised of four smaller neighborhoods -- Springer Meadows, Varsity Park, Blossom Valley Estates, and Gest Ranch -- which are nestled on either side of Cuesta Drive, between Springer Road and Miramonte Avenue. The neighborhoods, built on orchard land in the 1950s, are loosely defined by themed street names.

Cuesta Drive is probably the most concrete community divider, however, with its busy traffic deterring children from mingling across neighborhoods.

While there isn't one official neighborhood association, smaller groups and informal activities bring residents together.

"On Tulane Drive, we have a little group of people who participate in Summer Happy Hour," said Lilly Yi, who moved to Varsity Park in 2004. "We each take turns hosting our neighbors in our front yards with hors d'oeuvres, and pizza for the kids. The kids get to play. The adults get to relax, talk with each other and catch up."

Blossom Valley facts: CHILDCARE AND PRESCHOOLS (NEARBY): St. Timothy's Nursery School, 2094 Grant Road; YMCA Kid's Place, 525 Hans Ave.; Little Acorn School, 1667 Miramonte Ave. FIRE STATION: No. 2, 160 Cuesta Drive NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION: Springer Meadows Neighborhood Association, Carole Stepp, coordinator, springer_meadows@yahoo.com PARKS: Varsity Park, Duke Way and Jefferson Drive; Cuesta Park, Cuesta Drive POST OFFICE: Blossom Valley, 1768 Miramonte Ave. PRIVATE SCHOOLS (NEARBY): St. Joseph Catholic School, 1120 Miramonte Ave.; St. Francis High School, 1885 Miramonte Ave. PUBLIC SCHOOLS: (Eligibility for school districts depends on resident's address) Los Altos School District -- Springer Elementary School, Blach Middle School; Mtn. View-Whisman School District -- Bubb Elementary School, Graham Middle School; Mtn. View-Los Altos Union High School District -- Los Altos or Mountain View High School SHOPPING: Blossom Valley Shopping Center, Miramonte Avenue at Cuesta Drive; Rancho Shopping Center MEDIAN 2007 HOME PRICE: $1,232,000 ($940,000-$1,850,000) # HOMES SOLD: 30

The Springer Meadows Neighborhood Association, one of the larger groups, sprung up around a mothers' group Carole Stepp formed after moving to Meadow Lane in 1997.

"In the past we've had events like block parties, Halloween street closings and Christmas caroling," Stepp said.

Residents agree that Blossom Valley is a quiet, safe place that has remained largely free of strife, but there are a few issues on the horizon.
"All the streets have always had a consistent issue of traffic flow," said Stepp. There are two things that may exacerbate this issue. The first is a new housing development that could reroute Marilyn Drive and increase traffic flow on some streets. The second is an upcoming redistricting of Los Altos schools.

Patricia, a mother of two, moved to her Blossom Valley Estates home in 1995 primarily because of the schools. "I walk my child to school a block and a half away across no major intersections. This particular area has attendance to the Los Altos school district. Our elementary school was in the top 10 percent of the entire state, and it fed into the middle school that was the top in the state," she said.

But now she says the redistricting may end up changing neighborhood traffic flow, as well as sending some local kids to school a mile out of their way. But, she said, these problems are small in the larger scheme of things.

"This really is a neighborhood," said Patricia. "You do not just live next door to someone, you have neighbors."

-- Dan Shilstone