Dear MP Council Members,
I am writing about the bike/ pedestrian bridge which crosses San Francisquito Creek at the end of San Mateo Drive in Menlo Park.
On crossing the bridge this morning I noticed that one of the lights was on (at 10:30 am - in the morning) while the other 3 or 4 were off. This seemed odd as I would expect all lights to be either on or off and in the morning (when I usually cross this bridge), I would expect them to be off. This suggests that either 3-4 lights are not working at all or that the timer to turn them on/off needs adjusting.
At the Palo Alto end of the bridge on the horizontal top guardrail, the words “F_ _ k Trump are painted. These words have been on the bridge since BEFORE last November. (My wife and I cross this bridge at least once a week so I am familiar with these type things). It seems to me that regardless of one’s feelings toward our now former President, or one’s politics, this language on a city bridge is still vulgar and offensive ( at least to me, my wife, and much of our population). There are dozens of children, both with and without parents, who cross this bridge every day. Leaving this language on a frequently used city bridge does not reflect well on Menlo Park or Palo Alto.
Finally, this structure (the bridge, not the creek bed, which is another matter), needs a thorough cleaning. There are hundreds of cobwebs and other detritus clinging to the bridge. The lamps are filthy as are the lamp posts. And there are other (less offensive) words painted on the railings. A good power washing, etc. would do wonders for this bridge.
This bridge was dedicated to one of Menlo Park’s former Mayor’s and City Councilmen. A plaque honoring him is on this bridge. I think he would be embarrassed if he were to walk across this bridge today (or anytime in the last 12 months).
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Bruce Ochieano
1795 Stanford Avenue
Menlo Park
Sent from my iPhone
