Dear Mayor Wolosin and Councilmembers,
Regarding tonight’s agenda item F2 on the Railroad Grade Separation, I wish to request you consider the following for the residents impacted by this project, especially for the Burgess Classics neighborhood:
- Please only pursue the Hybrid (Option C) track partial elevation since the Fully Elevated Grade Separation and significant track elevation will create a Berlin Wall dividing Menlo Park in half — and destroy the community spirit and environment that attracts people to Menlo Park as residents and workers.
- The Fully Elevated option will create a visual blight and drive property values down — which will reduce city tax revenue for many decades into the future, and likely permanently.
- With the prediction of dramatically increased number of trains on an already busy line due to train electrification, the elevated tracks will push more train noise and horns far deeper into more Menlo Park neighborhoods on both sides of the tracks. The noise pollution and stress created by the train noises 24x7 is already creating significant problems for residents, which created the unified efforts of the many neighborhoods impacted to work together to create a Quiet Zone.
- There should be no consideration for a fully elevated option for tracks immediately next to so many residential homes. Both sound pollution and loss of privacy are their chief concerns
- After bring a resident in Redwood Shores for many years prior to moving to Menlo Park, I’ve seen firsthand the blight and dramatic division of towns like San Carlos, Belmont and Redwood City when the tall walls are built to raise the train tracks at all intersections. There is likely a lot of data now on the impact on those cities including property values, severe sound pollution deeper into the cities, and privacy problems for residents near the tracks. Important: There are many new residential homes built recently next to the tracks, most of whom haven’t moved in yet, and this doesn’t factor in the potentially thousands of residents in SRI/ParkLine.
Thank you for your care for our community and your consideration of the many negative financial impacts and dramatic quality of life reduction for so many residents of Menlo Park if the Full Elevated Grade Separation option is considered.
Warmly,
Sue Connelly
Board Member, The Classics at Burgess Park HOA
