Dear council members, San Mateo county recently allowed non-essential construction to resume. However, the shelter in place order for general public still holds. No provisions have been made to protect the public from negative externalities of construction projects, such as noise, pollution, vibrations. Typically, construction work is allowed 8am-6pm Mon-Fri - the reasoning being that during these hours people are away from their homes, at work, so they will escape the noise. However, this is completely not true during the time of the pandemic. People are staying at home, many are trying to hold on to their jobs by working from home. They have nowhere to go - every conceivable place to escape to is closed - offices, libraries, coffee shops, restaurants, everything is closed. There is nowhere to go, nowhere to hide from the noise. Given that people are in this situation, there need to be provisions to limit construction when it adversely affects people who don't have an opportunity to avoid it. Multiple studies have shown significant physical and mental health effects from noise, pollution and vibrations created by construction equipment - especially by low-frequency noise that is not easily blocked by walls or earplugs. So far no measures have been taken to protect the public, who are already strained by the pandemic, and whose health and jobs are already in jeopardy. I strongly urge the council to move to protect the people of Menlo Park and consider not only monetary costs, but also costs to health and well-being of humans in the area. Sincerely, Liudmila Nikolaeva Received on Fri May 29 2020 - 09:15:06 PDT
