Council Members,
I have lived in the Willows neighborhood for nearly 30 years and we still do not have a readily accessible full grocery store. The problems with a lack of ready access to grocery have become super evident during pandemic sheltering and, now, air quality disasters. Safeway has proven, again, that it is not able to meet the needs of the entire community. Dah. My original delivery order from them, placed in March, did not arrive, was canceled and it subsequently took three phone calls and one month to get a refund. I have not tried ordering from them again. I go to three different stores in Palo Alto and occasionally the local markets. Local Willows markets are delightful but woefully lacking and, as required with such stores, noticeably more expensive.
I do not go to Safeway because most of the time I spend more time waiting at lights than I do driving. Shall I mention the extremely dangerous and darn right scary congestion of bicycles, pedestrians with flags, trains and heavy traffic on Ravenswood? When I arrive, it takes me ten minutes to shop and, 90% of the time, twenty minutes to check out. That may be an exaggeration but not by much. I’ll be dead by the time the Facebook complex, presumably with grocery, is completed. And that’s not an exaggeration. Safeway has never been able to serve the entire community effectively. Put a store on this side of town now. Get really clever and figure out how to expand The Willows Market (and parking). Please.
We need another market now.
Also to note, I find Covid-19 and all other community information through Palo Alto resources. Why? because Menlo Park, it appears, doesn’t provide such information. Menlo Park does community issue surveys. I don’t answer any of those any more either. Why bother.
And one more note; I also don’t shop in Menlo Park any more and haven’t for quite some time. Too many parking tickets. What a really, really stupid way to manage down town parking. I received the last ticket on a Sunday evening when I stopped to have dinner after my volunteer job. The ticket was for a 15 year old car that is missing its front license plate. The car never had a front plate and still doesn't. Yes, yes I know it’s a violation, but come on, Sunday evening while supporting local businesses? This would have never have and has never happened in any other city. Check out what has been done in Redwood City to manage parking and growth. Amazing. Menlo Park? Authorizes substantial new building on El Camino. What’s that going to do to the El Camino traffic mess?
As many here in Menlo Park are, I am aging in place. Today I am wondering, should I leave for a place with better services access?
Why does it take Menlo Park so very, very long to do anything to improve the community for its citizens?
No response is expected or desired.
Jayne Brownlee
