Once of the speakers in the public comment tonight provided you misleading
information about children crossing El Camino to get to school. There are
only a tiny number of students who cross El Camino to attend Oak Knoll or
Hillview schools. Most of this tiny number are Tinsley transfer students
from East Palo Alto who are bused to school.
So please dont let this information sway you to authorize spending $60
million dollars on a tunnel, which works out to about $200,000 per city
resident who might use it. This is based on the assumption that only about
1% of the citys population would use the tunnel. This number is probably
very high. If you did a postcard survey of residents, the actual number is
probably much lower.
And dont forget the maintenance costs. This tunnel would be below grade,
and would need pumps to keep rainwater out. These drains would get clogged
with leaves, and the tunnel would flood in the winter on a regular basis.
And think about how much the usage of the tunnel would drop after the first
reported strong-arm robbery of a pedestrian in the tunnel.
Sue Kayton
kayton@alum.mit.edu
1854 Doris Drive
Menlo Park
I VOTE!
