Im Austin Quarles, a resident of Menlo Park who works in Menlo Park. I
send my two kids to public school in Menlo Park and am leaving Menlo Park
because there are no affordable housing options in Menlo Park. Ill tell
you the parking lot and the ability to park behind a rug store had NO
BEARING on where I would choose to raise my family.
Menlo Park doesn’t need a parking lot, it needs affordable housing at any
level. It needs young families to be able to live in the city.
The downtown is hurting not because of a lack of access to parking, it’s
because it, like the rest of Menlo, doesnt speak to families, young
professionals or anyone except folks that bought their house in the 1970s.
I’ve lived here for 4 years and have two kids under 5. There is no store
for children, no daycare, no modern gym, no entertainment. The parking lot
will not fix the issue of downtown Menlo Park. The issue is a bunch of
stores out of touch with what a modern downtown needs.
*An issue we KNOW needs to be addressed is the fact that in order to afford
a 3 bedroom house, my young family would need an income of $1.53M dollars
per year.*
What do you think is the bigger threat to the long-term health of this
city? Parking or the fact that about *99.5% of people living in California
cannot afford to move to Menlo Park. *
*If more people can afford to live in Menlo, more businesses will open,
more foot traffic to stores, a better downtown experience.*
Plus waymo is coming, parking lots in general are a waste of space.
The people calling for "saving downtown" do not care about the longtail
prospects of this city.
-Austin
*Austin Quarles*
913-626-6961 | austinq7@gmail.com
