Being able to dine outdoors in downtown Menlo Park is one of the real pleasures of living here. One can drive or walk there from several surrounding neighborhoods and enjoy being in the sunshine and seeing friends dining or walking by. These inviting settings have attracted more people to downtown than would have come had the outdoor seating not been available. With the arrival of warmer weather, these areas will soon be bustling with people. The open area in front of Walgreens was the setting for the Bon Marche and we hope this market will return when the weather warms. The traffic pattern created by outdoor dining is not ideal but awkward driving patterns exist in other key places as well, (e.g. Sand Hill Road ending at El Camino Real rather than continuing into Palo Alto ). I hope that Menlo Park will find a way to keep outdoor dining in our downtown.
Monica Corman
