February 16, 2018 Dear Menlo Park City Council, As you know, congestion has become the unavoidable, traffic dilemma in Menlo Park in the last few months. With the recent installation of the ‘No Thru Traffic’ signs in the Willows neighborhood that has prevented commuters from funneling into Dumbarton Bridge through the residential area, traffic flow has curtailed slightly. My commute from Stanford to home, in Menlo Park’s Belle Haven Neighborhood, use to take 25 minutes taking the Marsh Road exit, and now it takes 45-50 minutes due to commuters spilling into my community taking shortcuts, and avoiding the heavy gridlock on Bayfront Expressway. Not only is the traffic inevitable in this area with the Facebook/Caltrain construction occurring at the same time, I know preventing drivers from flooding into Belle Haven with the help of ‘No Thru Traffic’ signs will significantly reduce commute times for not only myself, but others who live in this area. One added benefit to the stop-and-go traffic, has been a contracted, construction worker, which has alleviated some gridlock by directing traffic from Instagram’s headquarters. We need action now. The solution to this “carmageddon” in my neighborhood is to have two, big street signs to block half the roadway from: 1) Chilco x Terminal Avenue and the other between 2) Terminal x Almanor Avenue. Too many cars are avoiding the ‘No Left Turn from 3:30-7:00PM’ signage (legally enforceable) between Chilco and Hamilton, and taking Terminal Avenue and Almanor Avenue to make a left on Hamilton Ave to cut through Willow Road. I understand the caveat that these signs cannot be legally enforced, but re-directing traffic and keeping cars on Bayfront Expressway is enough justification to install the signs in our neighborhood to significantly return our roads back to normalcy. Our neighborhood is in need of a solution now. Thank you. Sincerely, Elidia and Daniel Tafoya Belle Haven Residents 340 Terminal Avenue, Menlo Park Elidia.tafoya_at_(domainremoved) 650-724-1982 Maria Contreras Terminal Ave., Menlo Park David and Rachel Bickerstaff Terminal Ave., Menlo Park Rose Bickerstaff Terminal Ave., Menlo Park Clementine Smith Terminal Ave., Menlo Park Whitney Pine Hoermann Terminal Ave., Menlo Park Maria Becerra Terminal Ave., Menlo Park Yui and Joanna Lee Terminal Ave., Menlo Park Victoria Fontenot Terminal Ave., Menlo Park Ismael Lombera Almanor Ave., Menlo Park Carmen Contreras-Mora Modoc Ave., Menlo Park Carlos and Cari Navarrete Almanor Ave., Menlo Park The Pech Family Hollyburne Ave., Menlo Park The Mora Family Windermere Ave., Menlo Park Alfredo Arteaga Hollyburne Ave., Menlo Park The Contreras Family Hamilton Ave., Menlo Park Sources: Bradshaw, K. (2013, November 15). Willows traffic: 'No Thru Traffic' signs up. The Almanac. Retrieved from http://www.almanacnews.com application/pdf attachment: Transportation Issues in Belle Haven.pdf
