Dear Menlo Park City Council, Thank you for your service and leadership through these challenging times. I am an eight year resident of Menlo Park in the Linfield Oaks neighborhood. I am reaching out because I was disappointed and worried to receive the notification that the city would begin enforcing overnight parking regulations again starting August 3rd. I was so surprised because the hold on enforcement of the policy was put in place due to the pandemic, and the pandemic is not only continuing, it’s worse than ever. We don’t have a driveway or a backyard, so parking on the street allowed us to use our garage for a work-from-home space, home gym for our kids, and occasional distance learning space for the kids, as well. It allowed us to separate the rooms we worked in from the rooms our children practiced distance learning & PE in. Being able to exercise in our own house, allowed us to keep our children home and safe. Our garage helped immensely for supporting our childrens' mental and physical health through the pandemic. I note that enforcing the parking restrictions also disproportionately impacts lower-income residents, people of color, and households with larger families. These groups may benefit more from the extra space for themselves, their families and children. I understand that the hold on enforcement was temporary, but I humbly request that you reevaluate your decision in light of the on-going pandemic and distance learning situation for children. Having the extra space in the garage has helped us and others perform basic functions of work, schooling and physical education. I hope you will reconsider this ill-timed shift in policy until after a pandemic subsides. Thank you so much for considering this request, Vic Vuchic 226 Morgan Ln Menlo Park, CA Received on Thu Aug 06 2020 - 11:15:02 PDT
