March 8, 2025
Dear Mayor Combs, Vice Mayor Nash, and Council Members,
I respectfully urge you to uphold the Appeal for 320 Sheridan Road and require the Applicant to improve the project for the safety and benefit of its future residents and the surrounding neighborhoods.
Specifically, I ask that you:
● Review the information that was provided to the Planning Commission by the Applicant and City Staff, including misleading information on access to public transit serving the project, and conflicting information about bicycle and pedestrian routes, distances, and times required for the residents to access these routes to work and school.
It makes very little sense for a cyclist or pedestrian to go through Suburban Park, double back down Bay Road and through Flood Triangle neighborhoods, to access the bike overpass on Van Buren. As a 50-year resident of Suburban Park, I can confidently say that access to public transit along Bay Road is poor.
● Provide the future residents of 320 Sheridan Drive with the entrance and exit to Van Buren Road originally proposed in the developer’s own Transportation Demand Management plan and in the City’s transportation analysis. The developer has publicly stated they are willing and able to create this second entrance if requested by the City and if the right-of-way is made available.
I am baffled how anyone could look at the configuration of the proposed development - for people who will commute to East Menlo Park - and not recognize that having only one access point on Sheridan Drive is nonsensical.
● This second entrance will not only improve safety in case of emergency, but also reduce daily commute distances and times, and greatly improve the daily quality of life for the residents of 320 Sheridan Drive as new residents of Menlo Park.
My and my neighbors’ objections to the 320 Sheridan Drive project has never been about resisting affordable housing on the Flood school site. It has always been about providing sensible access and egress that recognizes likely traffic patterns, convenience for everyone, and spreads out the traffic so no one neighborhood is unfairly impacted. We all have kids who play in the streets, and our streets are significantly narrowed when cars park on one or both sides.
Thank you for your time and consideration, and for ensuring the project is properly planned to support safety and a connected community.
Sincerely,
Maureen Clark
356 Hedge Road
Menlo Park
650-434-2001
