Dear members of the Menlo Park City Council and Transportation Team,
We hope this email finds you well. My name is Eugene Kelley, and my partner
Laurel Fullerton and I have written you before regarding pedestrian safety
at the University Drive and Santa Cruz Avenue intersection. Were grateful
for your quick response and the changes you made; that intersection has
become much safer to navigate since then.
Were writing you again with regards to the University Drive and Menlo
Avenue intersection. In our last email we mentioned that pedestrian safety
was still lacking there, and that the combination of heavy pedestrian
traffic and impatient vehicle traffic was a dangerous combination. As you
probably already know, on Monday, August 10th, a serious vehicle and
pedestrian collision with major injuries occurred at that same intersection
between a car and an elderly man. (
https://www.almanacnews.com/police/2026/08/12/collision-injures-pedestrian-in-downtown-menlo-park/
)
Despite the positive changes that have been made so far, it remains a
dangerous and frankly scary interaction to cross. Out-of-town traffic
passing through doesnt respect the stop signs or the pedestrians, often
rolling right through without stopping even if people are actively
crossing. Even just increasing enforcement there would be a great
improvement, as Im seeing at least one traffic violation almost every time
I cross there. Thats not hyperbole, either. It really is that bad on many
days, especially during any sort of rush. My neighbors in the Menlo Avenue
cul-de-sac and the staff of Draegers can attest to this as well. Some of
them have even remarked that they no longer walk in the neighborhood, in
large part due to the conditions at that particular intersection.
On behalf of everyone who regularly uses this intersection, we urge you to
do more for pedestrian safety at University and Menlo.
Thank you so much for your time and consideration,
Eugene Kelley and Laurel Fullerton
