I am writing as a citizen of Downtown Menlo Park since 2014 to endorse keeping the plaza or expanding it (responding to today’s email with the three choices to keep, downsize, or remove). It would be nice if there is a budget to make it feel more permanent with pavers or something similar, but it isn’t necessary. It currently feels much safer as a pedestrian and cyclist. Cars are not rushing through that part of Santa Cruz to beat the light at El Camino or to make that right turn. I had previously had a number of close calls at that intersection with cars coming onto el camino, looking north to check for an opening to make the right turn and not seeing me as a pedestrian or cyclist. They also used to start to move more quickly and aggressively by the Starbucks, I think to get down to El Camino in a hurry. At least that is my impression as a fairly regular user of this area. As I would think you are probably aware and likely more informed than I am, I believe the Vision Zero map of collisions prior to 2021 supports this impression (page 8) https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fdocaccess.com%2fdocviewer.html%3furl%3dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.menlopark.gov%252Ffiles%252Fsharedassets%252Fpublic%252Fv%252F5%252Fpublic-works%252Fdocuments%252Ftransportation%252Ftransportation-projects%252Fmenlo-park-vzap-appendix-b-collision-analysis-summary.pdf%26url_hash%3d929c7ed62b110452791771347d7759b7%26domain%3dmenlopark.gov%26site%3d91291e4b-a87a-43ca-b8a7-b228e7d9764d%26found_on%3dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.menlopark.gov%252FGovernment%252FDepartments%252FPublic-Works%252FCapital-improvement-projects%252FVision-Zero-Action-Plan&c=E,1,K8CyUy40oSx4XoqmT6LPaR64A_6lNXHNFX6iNZrMtEMdWL_v6po5qqD3uOffPk2pwuxUDvg1p88zoGU-zKReOcnfTSJA4Z6zkMJ4XdHrFw,,&typo=1
More idiosyncratic perhaps, but I personally also think some public reminders of the COVID era are actually important…it feels like there has been a lot of wishing to erase and forget...the way that communities came together to activate outdoor public spaces and outdoor dining was a meaningful act of resilience and one good thing that happened at that time that would be nice to continue to carry with us.
Thanks for alerting us and seeking community input on this issue.
John
