Dear Menlo Park City Council and Staff:
I want to echo Amy Berg’s letter regarding lack of visible speed limit signs and speeding traffic on Partridge Avenue in our Allied Arts neighborhood..
Speed limit signs, while necessary, are ineffective when a residential street design enables speeds of 40 MPH or higher, which is the reality for Partridge. Because we have no mid-block stop signs or speed controls of any kind, as all other parallel streets have in the Allied Arts, Partridge Ave has become the defacto cut-through for traffic heading south on El Camino Real and for traffic entering Allied Arts from southbound El Camino. Motorists even favor Partridge over Middle Avenue with just a stop-sign at El Camino vs a stoplight.
I don’t know what the traffic counts are on Partridge, but the speeds of many cut-through motorists are truly frightening, and serve to erode the quality of life on our street.
We need help, and I would appreciate the attention of our City to reduce cut-through traffic and install speed calming to help provide a safer environment for the many young families and seniors on Partridge Ave.
Respectfully,
Bill Kirsch
872 Partridge Ave
On Jul 20, 2022, at 11:42 AM, Amy Berg
> wrote:
Hello all,
I’m following up regarding this urgent issue on Partridge Ave. It is unacceptable that this issue has been ignored for months (arguably years). Our street is not safe. We have a close-knit and vibrant community on Partridge Ave and I truly worry about the safety of my family, neighbors, and friends. We have vulnerable residents including many children and senior citizens (particularly at Partridge Place 817 Partridge Ave). Our safety should be a priority to our city.
We have 2 speed limit signs on our street, one is completely not visible (see photo - the sign is in the drawn yellow circle, as it would not otherwise be visible). The other is bent, dirty, and not effective. Appropriate signage should be the bare minimum traffic calming measure, and even that we are lacking.
We need more effective traffic calming measures on our street. And we need them now. We have been patient during the revamp (or pause) of the NTMP Program, but this has gone on too long. Please work with us. We need to be proactive.
I urge your to respond timely and effective to this repeat request from your citizens. We need action.
Sincerely,
Amy Berg
862 Partridge Ave
Phone:
770-402-4556
On Mar 6, 2022, at 9:04 PM, Amy Berg > wrote:
To Council, Complete Streets Commission, Chief Norris, Manager Murphy, and Public Works Staff –
My name is Amy Berg and I am a homeowner on Partridge Avenue in the Allied Arts neighborhood of Menlo Park.
I am writing to you on behalf of many neighbors on our street who are concerned about speeding and safety.
Our street has a lot of families with children who walk bike and play outside on a regular basis. We even had a Halloween street party last year just for the children on our street that dozens of families enjoyed. We also have a senior living facility on our street and many seniors walk up and down the street every day.
Unfortunately, our street happens to be the only one in the Allied Arts neighborhood that connects University Avenue to El Camino Real without any obstructions. It is one straight shot without any stop signs (like on College and Harvard), cross streets (on Middle, Cambridge, Harvard, Creek), speed bumps (Cambridge) or curves (Creek Rd.).
It seems a lot of local drivers have figured this out and use our street as a way to get to and from El Camino as quickly as possible, which often means going extremely fast, way above the speed limit, from one end of the street to the other.
As parents and neighbors, many of us are concerned about our safety.
We have been told that the NTMP program is the only process available to remedy this, however it is on pause. That is unacceptable.
We ask that you take the safety of our residents, especially children, seriously and urgently prioritize traffic calming for our street, such that cars are not able to go down our street at high speeds.
Thank you
Amy Berg
862 Partridge Ave
Bill Kirsch
Costella Kirsch
650-867-5343