Dear Menlo Park City Council,
I am writing to express my concern about the proposed low income housing project on the downtown parking lots. I urge your council to pause and not vote to move ahead with this development until further study on the impact to traffic, parking and downtown can be assessed. In your discussion please consider the following:
1. Parking - Downtown Menlo Park already has a parking problem during the work week. Taking away valuable space would only further exacerbate this issue.
2. Impact on local business - Our downtown currently has a high vacancy rate. Having high density low income housing would not encourage new business to open in downtown. Lack of parking would further discourage people from shopping at our local businesses.
3. Traffic - Menlo Park increasingly has a huge traffic problem at peak times. Driving from the east side of the city to the west side at peak times can take up to 30 minutes. Adding high density housing would only increase this problem.
4. Safety for children - Our community is known to be a safe, walkable and bike able city. We have four schools in the downtown corridor where kids feel safe and comfortable walking and hanging out downtown. High density housing would change this dynamic.
Thank you for your time and consideration on this proposal. Please consider the long term impact on our wonderful city.
Sincerely,
Suzanne Yonkers
