Dear Council Members: As a long time resident of Menlo Park, please remove the parklet located on Curtis St. I know that you are trying to create a place in the downtown area for people to enjoy. If you wish to create a place for people to go, sit, visit, show movies, gather for picnics, etc., Menlo Park already has a lovely park downtown, Fremont Park. I am requesting the parklet's removal for the following reasons: 1. It is unsightly. 2. Removes badly needed parking (street parking is already shrinking). It is a nuisance for people wanting to use Curtis when exiting from the parking lot near by. 3. The homeless appear to be the primary users (which is a sad commentary for our community) with few students after school along with others. Thus, only a few people use it. (As a resident and often downtown, I have not seen many making use of it.) 4. The City represented that it was temporary. (Do I dare say, "Fake News.") Appears that the City lied. 5. Artificial turf accumulates dirt, grim, germs bacteria. 6. I am told that the merchants do not like it for various reasons. Have you asked them? Finally, how often have you stopped by the parklet for lunch, visiting friends, reading a book, or just observing the use of the area? Fremont Park has been around since approximately 1938. When lawn covered the entire area, people would stop by for lunch, picnic with friends, read a book, or to just get away from the traffic downtown. I suggest that you put all you efforts in maintaining Fremont Park and bring it back as the beautiful oasis that it once was. Thank you, Lydia Dioli Cooper875 University Dr.Menlo Park Received on Sun Aug 13 2017 - 09:58:06 PDT
