To City Council members:
The Public Plaza should be removed for the following reasons.
1. The blocked off street area is contributing to additional traffic
congestion on Menlo Ave and Oak Grove streets.
2. It is a further inconvenience for shoppers to access downtown business
and hurts business sales and access.
3. The blocked off street currently takes up valuable needed parking
spaces in the downtown area. Current modern acceptable parking standards
for retail and office parking are 4 to 5 parking spaces per 1000 square
feet of building area. Menlo Park currently falls willfully short of
acceptable standards to accommodate a thriving retail and office building
setting environment . Menlo Park needs every parking space to help the
local businesses survive and thrive. If patrons can not conveniently park
and access the stores they will shop elsewhere .
As a Commercial Real Estate expert with over 45 years of both brokerage and
development experience, I have the knowledge to know what makes a
successful and prosperous downtown area.
Brian McCarthy
Menlo Park lifelong Resident
