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. 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.
● 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.
● 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 wife and I recently bought our first home together at 307 Sheridan Drive, just around the corner from where I grew up in Suburban Park. We did so knowing about this development project, and we are excited to have so many wonderful educators as neighbors. But as we eagerly await the birth of our first child this summer, we want to make sure that the neighborhood remains a safe place to raise children. I feel that providing our new residents access directly to the frontage road will be a strong step in that direction and reduce the number of cars rushing in and out of the neighborhood and speeding past our house. I hope you will take this perspective into consideration in regard to this appeal.
Thank you for your time and consideration, and for ensuring the project is properly planned to support safety and a connected community.
Sincerely,
Ryan Cole
Menlo Park Resident
