To whom it may concern -
My name is Ned Desmond. I have lived at 1360 Crane Street for nearly ten years. I live there with my wife, Joan, who is visually impaired and navigates with a cane, and a wheelchair-bound, 95-year-old mother. I moved to the area because of the easy walking proximity to downtown. In the years since I’ve been there we’ve also an ADU - our own small effort to help with the housing crunch! Our home is in a great location for us (apart from the worsening traffic on Valparaiso!) and we hope to be there for many years to come.
I am writing to express my opposition to the projected use of the downtown parking lots between Oak Grove and Santa Cruz for housing. I am grateful to Betsy Nash for holding a public discussion on the topic in Fremont Park last weekend. Although I don’t agree with her position, I respect her willingness to engage publicly with her constituents and the considerable time and effort she has brought to this and many other projects for Menlo Park.
My opposition to the proposed project centers on community disruption and risk that siting the project adjacent to our downtown will pose for Menlo Park.
When it comes to disruption, there is no escaping the paralyzing impact that construction in those parking lots will cause for traffic, pedestrians and cyclists for at least two years. The blocks between Camino and University on Santa Cruz, Oak Grove, Valparaiso are already jammed with cars big part of the day, and access for anyone walking, driving or cycling in that area will be a dangerous mess, no matter how diligently construction firms try to provide temporary access. It’s also worth noting that there is very little space around there for construction firms to stage equipment, which will compound the problem.
And of course once the project is underway, if it comes to that, there will be no meaningful redress for the people who are inconvenienced. I am thinking of my own family, not the least my wife who taps her way into town a few times a day, but also the many, many walker and wheelchair-using people who live in my neighborhood, are residents at the rehab facility on Crane, or are living in the section 8 Crane Place Apartments. You can see these folks coming and going to Santa Cruz all day long, and anyone who has to endure limited independence due to one disability or another treasures nothing more than whatever mobility independence they have. The downtown project will be a real blow to this group of Menlo Park citizens.
I also want to point out that during construction phase there will presumably be no parking available on the Oak Grove side of Santa Cruz, although Ms. Nash mentioned nearby church parking lots as a possible work around. Perhaps, but that will still entail a longer walk, knowledge of those lots availability, and a willingness to drive into the area at all, given the tumult that comes with construction. The lots on the other side of Santa Cruz are always packed, so they will be no help. This will be very bad for local businesses. It’s impossible to argue otherwise. We will lose more stores. It could take years to re-build the faint signs of progress downtown.
The argument that the city will ensure that a roughly equal number of parking spaces will be available once the project is complete is riddled with problems. An equal number of spaces will hardly be much help if there are 345 apartment units. Where will those tenants park? It’s important to note that the state does not require parking - any parking - as long as the development is close to transit, which our downtown is. We are dependent on our city council to somehow insist on this, and given their strong pro-bicycle, anti-car sensibilities, I have my doubts that they will. We are not Amsterdam. Menlo’s residents need to be able to drive to town and park as much as handicapped people need to be able to get into town in wheelchairs or walkers. Finally, if parking is somehow preserved then the most likely option will be street level parking beneath the new structures, which will present an institutional, unpleasant atmosphere not well suited to a small downtown.
The city has until 2031 to accommodate the state mandate. Why the hurry, especially when the current plan is such a disruptive choice, one that will seriously inconvenience Menlo citizens as well as the shop and restaurant owners in our downtown? With all due respect to the many people who have worked hard and in good faith on this project, it’s time to go back to the drawing board. There is time. State authorities have a lot of leeway in how they treat municipalities attempting to deliver more housing, and Menlo has a good track record to date. And in any case, there is time. Let’s just face up to it: downtown is not a viable choice.
Thank you for considering our views matter.
Sincerely,
Ned and Joan Desmond
