Editor,

An article in the Weekly (July 11) reported on a survey of Dish-area users conducted on behalf of Stanford in May. I would like to comment on that article and the letters to the editor it has generated.

Several readers complained that the survey was flawed because it did not take into account those who do not use the Dish now. That is a strange criticism since the survey was explicitly a user survey designed only to learn who is visiting the Dish now and what they think of the conditions there.

An independent firm designed, supervised, tabulated and interpreted the results of the survey. And it was a tricky survey to do because the questions had to be presented clearly on a one-page form that hikers and joggers could fill out in one or two minutes.

We were pleased that 80 percent of those who visited the Dish during the week of the survey filled out the questionnaire. We did not know what the results of the survey would be, and we learned a great deal.

For example, 30 percent of the users of the Dish live in Palo Alto, 15 percent in Menlo Park, 15 percent at Stanford and the rest elsewhere. We also learned that 58 percent of the users are not affiliated with Stanford and 42 percent are students, faculty, staff and alumni.

We are pleased that so many local community members enjoy hiking and jogging at the Dish along with Stanford residents. We also learned the views of users of the Dish on conditions at the Dish, on the new policy and on recommended improvements. This information will help us do a better job, particularly with the hours of operation and the availability of some softer surfaces for hiking and jogging.

It is, of course, true that not all agree with the changes at the Dish, and some feel very strongly about them. Many dog owners, for example, disagree with the exclusion of dogs from the Dish as they may undoubtedly disagree with such exclusion from many public parks.

But it is curious that one writer could conclude that the Dish is "effectively closed to the public." Under the new Dish policy, the Dish receives 250,000 visits a year, making it a heavily used recreational area. Recreational use of the Dish exceeds that of Foothills Park by a wide margin.

And while the recent user survey obviously could not include those who do not use the Dish, separate, general surveys of Menlo Park, Palo Alto and District 5 of Santa Clara County (which includes Palo Alto) in January included a question about the new Dish policy.

The question explicitly mentioned the ban on dogs and picnics. By a margin of greater than 3 to 1, the public approved of the new Dish policy.

I would also like to report that the storm-drain project at the base of the Dish area -- which will provide flood protection for Stanford and some nearby Palo Alto neighborhoods -- will be completed in early August. Immediately thereafter, Stanford will restore disturbed areas by reseeding and replanting.

I am pleased to announce that a new Stanford Web page -- http://dish.stanford.edu -- is now in operation. The entire user survey discussed above is posted on this site: every question, charts and graphs of the results, and an interpretive summary prepared by the professional firm responsible for the survey.

This Web site will be updated frequently with reports about the Dish, including, as it occurs, clean-up and restoration after the storm-drain project.

We encourage community members interested in the Dish to visit this Web site and to send e-mail comments on Dish matters to the address posted on the site.

Larry Horton
Stanford University
http://www.paweekly.com/paw/morgue/2001/2001_07_25.letters.html