Honorable Council members,
I am writing tonight to urge you to accept the Staff recommendation on item G1, with regards to the location of the loading zone
for Draeger's. Although I am a member of the Complete Streets Commission, I write to you today as a resident of Menlo Park.
The Complete Streets Commission looked at the various options for a loading zone for Draeger's and concluded that placing the
loading zone on Menlo Avenue would needlessly endanger both bicyclists and pedestrians. Placing the loading zone on Menlo Avenue
would require all the delivery trucks to navigate the extremely tight right-hand turn at University Drive. The intersection of
University and Menlo has a difficult layout which already creates a lot of driver confusion in a place with significant pedestrian
activity. Adding heavy trucks into this mix is a recipe for disaster. Those delivery trucks would then have to make their way
through the intersection of University and Santa Cruz, which is even more heavily used by people walking and biking.
A delivery truck unloading on Menlo Avenue would create sightline issues for everyone else, making people walking and biking even
more vulnerable. A truck parked on Menlo Avenue would narrow the travel lane and endanger people on bikes. The unloading process
will mean boxes and pallets blocking the sidewalk and hampering pedestrians.
Please keep downtown safe and accessible to people walking and biking, and accept the Staff recommendation to place the loading
zone for Draeger's on the south side of Evelyn Street.
Thank you.
Bianca WalserUniversity Drive
