Hello,
I am a resident of Menlo Park and mother of three young boys. We were informed through my son’s soccer program that there is a possibility that the SRI Parkline Project could include additional sports fields, and I am writing to implore you to include as much space for athletic fields (and corresponding parking!) as possible in the plan for that project.
I don’t know if any of you ever spend time at Burgess on weekday afternoons, but it is packed. There are several soccer practices happening at the same time, such that you can’t cross the field without walking through a scrimmage, and I often end up having to drop my son off at the curb and then circle the parking lot for ten or twenty minutes just to find a parking space. We also had to cut practices and combine teams when the time changed because there simply is not enough field space for everyone to practice during daylight hours.
As housing density in Menlo Park increases, there has not been a corresponding increase in recreational spaces for our children. The new Belle Haven campus is beautiful, but with weekday afternoon traffic, it takes nearly an hour to get there from Central Menlo Park, so it is not something that kids in our area can realistically make use of. Athletic programs are so important to our kids, and I believe that it is crucial to grow mindfully and without sacrificing the quality of life of our community’s children.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Stephanie Diebold
