Dana,
This site is very interesting. Please include us in your distributions.
Thank you,
Anita Ochieano
baochieano@gmail.com

Hi Anita: I encourage you to not only sign-up for my blog but also share your perspectives, as well. Simply go to my blog page Web Link

Thanks for your feedback.

Count me in as a big supporter of these projects and others that improve our central business corridor! After years of vacant lots and effectivel city planning we are now finally going to enjoy the great potential of this area without negatively impacting our "charming" Santa Cruz Avenue "village" atmosphere. We are late, but it was well worth the wait. YEA!

The project proposed to demolish Feldman's Books would be an atrocious eyesore to the development of El Camino. I'm so thankful that the Planning Commisson spoke out about the design. Feldman's Books adds irreplaceable value to downtown Menlo Park and I hope that more people will speak out against demolishing the historic building and destroying a long term small local business. Menlo Park needs to examine what kind of businesses we want, because these new developers will hike up rents and local businessss will fold leaving us with only big chain stores with no charm or substance. This is a fight for our city's conscience and charm, progress can be made while preserving what makes Menlo Park special. Let's act before it's too late and we lose what we can never get back.

I'm generally supportive of all this redevelopment, but I'm horrified to learn that they're trying to replace Feldman's. Feldman's is a community treasure -- our family has been going there since the mid-90s, and it'd be terrible to lose such a Menlo icon. Let the housing replace all the vacant lots, but spare the bookstore!

CMbooklover: I agree that a "better" building design should be proposed for this location. That said, this property was sold by the prior owner - who knew that existing businesses would be replaced - to a developer who intends to do so. That's how markets work. So this property WILL be developed with a design that is consistent with our city regulations. If it were a true historical site, it be preserved in some way but that is not the case.

One last thought: I do not find the older buildings on El Camino the least bit charming but understand personal tastes vary widely.

Thanks for sharing your concerns.

I hope some planning goes into the already dreadful traffic on El Camino in Menlo Park. Hard to imagine what all these new businesses will do to a vital through fare.

Along with all this, a key decision is whether we continue planning for a large parking structure within Downtown. With all the parking being built at both 1300 ECR and 500 ECR this seems like a bad idea. The city needs a fresh look at how to keep Downtown pedestrian friendly with attention to the accessibility of retail, the quality of public space and a less autocentric approach than is implicit in the Specific Plan. A car never bought dinner at any restaurant.

Dagwood: Please note that a downtown parking structure is no longer a city council strategic priority and no funding is included in the 2019-20to budget. The council focus has shifted to short term parking solutions.

Dana - very informative post.

I'd like to see something changed with El Camino Real through Menlo Park.
ECR from Palo Alto to Redwood City is mostly 3 lanes each way, but ECR narrows to 2 lanes each way in MP and becomes a bottleneck in traffic. Listening to discussions on why ECR in MP cannot be changed to 3 lanes, it's often mentioned that downtown businesses facing ECR rely on street parking. I can see how that is true for the westside (southbound) of ECR, particularly between Oak Grove and Menlo Ave. However, the eastside (northbound) of ECR has businesses set farther back and have adjacent parking lots and hence do not rely on street parking. Moreover, with all the new construction going on the eastside, perhaps it's time to reevaluate the 2 vs 3 lane issue, just for this side of the street.

Currently, traveling north, starting from Jeffrey's Hamburgers, the 3rd lane (outside, closest to the sidewalk) becomes a right turn only lane. All through traffic must merge into lanes 1-2. The 3rd lane remains right turn only for 7 successive intersections (Ravenswood, Santa Cruz, Oak Grove, Glenwood, Encinal, Buckthorn, and finally Spruce) until you get to Watkins Ave. Why is this? I can see that a right turn only lane is good for cars turning right because they can turn right on red and not have cars that are going straight to impede their lane. However, the tradeoff is having more congestion for the through traffic going north. I would like to see the 3rd lane become a through lane/right turn lane all the way through Menlo Park. I think this will reduce the congestion northbound, particularly around the downtown core. Once the results of this change are viewed, then the southbound lanes can be reevaluated, but let's just do one side first.