Any sensible community would welcome a property acquisition by a responsible, successful company that will bring both dollars and vitality to our community. I am confident that this property will be developed in an integrated manner with superb attention to details and the needs of the community.

While I am happy that Facebook is buying and renovating property, there is a continued degradation to our communities due to the increase in traffic and lack of regional transit planning.

Last Thursday, I literally spent 40 minutes going from 101 and Marsh to the Dumbarton bridge. What a mess! I will NEVER do that again. I truly pity everyone who has to make that commute every day.

At what point will employers, residents and commuters throw up their hands and simply say, "To Hell with the Peninsula, the traffic isn't worth it!" Living near the intersection of Marsh and 101, I can tell you that traffic is now impossible between 4:30-6PM. It regularly backs up Marsh past Bay almost to Atherton. Middlefield is a joke. Side trips through Fair Oaks are now my quickest way home. But, anyone who has mapping phone apps can now enjoy these shortcuts too, which then clogs these residential streets.

And it doesn't get any better for those living on the West side either. Everyday on 280 it is a traffic jam at Sandhill going North from 4-6PM. To get to 280, I now go through Sharon Heights. SandHill from Stanford is terrible. If I'm heading North, my new shortcut is now Canada Rd. Which is such a joke because I remember when they built 280 and Canada Rd was the main road between San Mateo and Woodside....we've come full circle.

I challenge Facebook to do the right thing with this new property aquisition. It is right on the Dumbarton Bridge freight line, along with their other new campus. If the local governments won't take the lead, then Facebook should lead in pushing for a light rail or ACE trains to help with the commute. Get that train line going or at least have dedicated bike paths throughout the area. A business pushing legislation? Hmmmmm, how cynical ;) If ALEC pushes pro-business legislation, perhaps Facebook can form a pro-regional transit group between all of the Tech & Start-Up Companies. It is a Quality of Life issue.

There are many solutions but if we keep building out by adding housing (Hint, hint - SaltWorks hasn't gone away...)and commercial interests (regardless of MP's Measure M, there will still be building) without dealing with the transit infrastructure- we are further fowling our nest.

For those of you stuck in traffic on Marsh, don't forget, you can always stop in at Marsh Manor for your stress reducing yoga class followed by the best burrito, craft beer and ice cream in town. I'll wave as I pass you on my bike. :)

"I challenge Facebook to do the right thing with this new property aquisition. It is right on the Dumbarton Bridge freight line, along with their other new campus. If the local governments won't take the lead, then Facebook should lead in pushing for a light rail or ACE trains to help with the commute"

Great idea - Facebook is just the kind of forward thinking and community involved company to do this.

@ Richard - As Peter says - they are the right type of company to do this. That said, all of the communities were aware of their growth and to help each surrounding community, fb worked with local leaders and citizens task force to address the issue of traffic and how to reduce that. Each surrounding community then presented a plan and was provided with funds from fb to complete that.... So if you are not liking the traffic and do not like the growth (or replacement of jobs lost at other companies in that area) then you should not confront the one that provides - rather confront your City / Town. Some of the improvements have been marked as fb improvements - you will notice the markings near the project such as on Marsh Road.
And to answer the thought that maybe I have something to do with this project or fb - I do not. This was all articles I followed all along to see if the money fb gave would actually be used by the Cities / Towns to assist in that.
Finally - I would suggest - the places you listed at Marsh Manor are very happy to have an increased traffic flow and an increase in employed people who now have also taken over Bohannon area with high tech jobs.

How timely that they're going to eliminate a lane on Middlefield. Like we need more traffic gridlock!

And some of the Atherton council members and the Town Manager also want to eliminate two lanes on ECR:
"Although we have been making snail-pace like progress with Caltrans, we have become the “squeaky wheel” as a strategy to get more attention, more focus, and more of a sense of urgency on several initiatives we’ve been trying to push through their system. Due to the ongoing issues and concerns regarding bicycle/pedestrian safety on El Camino Real, the purpose of this meeting is to make sure the District Director is aware two important initiatives the Town has dedicated resources to, (1) Operational Analysis of reducing travel lanes on ECR from 6 lanes to 4 lanes and (2) the feasibility of restricting left turns from Southbound ECR to Markham/Dexter Ave (opposite Selby Ln)."

Just imagine what they would do to traffic in general and to emergency response times in particular. Atherton would become one huge bottleneck all the way from the Alameda to 101 .

@Robert - Thanks for the clarification regarding FBs ongoing commitments. I've noticed the striping and the "share bike" icons painted on March Rd. If they also include shuttle service to and from the CalTrain, all the better. I still believe that fast-tracking the Dumbarton Bridge corridor with stops at FaceBook for an ACE Train will truly help to relieve at least some of the congestion.
Losing a lane of Marsh to create bike lanes? Surly you jest (heh heh) - I hadn't heard of that. I think it would be good for bikes but agree that it would be bad for traffic on Marsh going both ways. It parrallels the argument of turning Alma into single lanes with bike lanes; can people get out of their cars and bike? Does our transit system promote & encourage commuters not to drive by providing convenient, safe, timely and affordable alternatives.
I just don't see the alternatives being presented - although the white busses that travel 101 must be making some impact upon overall auto usage. I still don't see enough linkage with the SmartGrowth proposals on the the peninsula and the interface with CalTrain.
And as for El Camino - sorry Peter, gotta go with 2 lanes and safer bike lanes through Atherton. Seems to me that adding more signals will stop traffic more than losing a lane. Also, since there really isn't as much commercial business on El Camino as in Menlo Park or RWC, you don't have the cross traffic or parking issues.

"Seems to me that adding more signals will stop traffic more than losing a lane."

Wrong, properly timed lights improve the traffic flow while reducing the number of lanes impairs the traffic flow.

It is much easier to maintain the speed limit on ECR in Palo Alto than in Atherton and Menlo Park. Why? Well synchronized lights an lots of them.

Having worked at a few local tech firms, most of the younger tech workers seem to commute down from SF. It is a great suggestion to add a train line or some sort of route directly from the railway. The new Facebook workers would not need to use autos, and then could hop on the train in SF for a direct ride to the new Facebook headquarters. Otherwise, the traffic is just going to get worse and worse for those of us that need to commute around Marsh road, Fair Oaks or across the Dumbarton bridge.

We should encourage a light rail line from the east Bay Bart station to the Menlo Part Cal Train Station with convenient stop at places like Facebook, for starters, instead of dumping so much money into the High Speed Rail project which will do nothing to relieve Bay Area Traffic.

The Bay Area traffic has become a nightmare. Has anyone noticed all of the high rise construction in Redwood City? More and more people, more and more cars, more and more of a mess. I was born and raised in the BA and am so sick of the traffic EVERYWHERE around town. It is a very sad situation indeed. I have no constructive criticism... only complaints and a car.

Jerry
Good luck running your rail thru lots of church properties and homes. Also need a few acres at MP station for platforms, add'l parking etc. Oh and don't forget HSR's property needs. By by Menlo Park.

Let the tech companies establish a ferry service from east bay points to MP or EPA with company buses transporting employees to and from the ferry terminal.B

Bike lanes and bike riding are being touted as the panacea for our traffic ills. Since our latest law compels cars to be at least 3 feet away from cyclists that means cars will have to crawl along behind bikes when there's not 3 feet of clearance; consequently, I fail to see how bike lanes will improve traffic flow. Additionally, not all of us can safely ride bicycles due to disabilities.

Are jobs at FB being filled by local residents with a variety of skills? Are those who work at FB spending money in MP or are they spending their money in SF?

Lots of interesting feedback.

Regarding El Camino - while synchronized lights may do the trick and increase safety for pedestrians crossing, I think the price point of those lights (isn't it at least $400,000 per crossing?) when compared with the cost of simply re-striping ECR for a lane configuration may be the deciding factor. Who decides this anyways? Atherton or Caltrans?

While completely against the overall scope of the plan, SaltWorks did have some interesting proposals for mass transit. I especially like the one that reminded me of Woody Allen's Sleeper- the 4 person moving pods. Better was the proposed trolley line but lacking overall is a vision for San Mateo County's lack of light rail. HSR rail, regardless of what happens to property on either side of the tracks, will have little impact upon the regional commute. Too bad our "visionary" elders scuttled BART in the '70s.

Here are the festive links for SaltWorks transit proposals and the Dumbarton Rail project - both are fun reads.

Web Link

Web Link

I agree with Mr. Carpenter's initial comment at the top of this section. I think it is just marvelous that the Facebook people have acquired all the acreage where Raychem thrived for so many years. I feel confident that my old friend Paul Cook, who co-founded Raychem fifty-seven years ago - would be so pleased that this land is being put to good use - to benefit our community with employment for so many bright young people.

fedup:

were you here in the late 90's, 2000? We aren't even close to how bad that was. Count your blessings.

@Menlo Voter
I would agree that 101 is not yet as bad as in the late 90s but seems like more and more have found 280. I have never seen it as bad as it is now, especially N-bound 280 from 4-6:30PM

Here's my solution for the ensuing traffic jams: the PAL-V flying car . Love it!

Web Link

Richard:

as a fixed wing pilot I have an inherent distrust of anything that "beats the air into submission" in order to fly. lol. Nice idea though.

I think 280 traffic is much worse due to massive expansion of Stanford. I think the majority of that traffic is Stanford traffic.

If you note the local Menlo traffic patterns, plenty of autos get off at 280 south from SF to the Woodside exit for tech work. Then they clog Woodside road, Stockbridge, etc getting down to Facebook through Fair Oaks. Try driving south on Middlefield or El Camino some morning, the traffic is gridlocked. How about if these companies that want to open huge campuses locally put in shuttle buses from the RWC and Menlo train stations? There should be an EIR required, and a mandate that at least some of their employees use public transport or carpool rather than one person-one auto.

oldtimer:

from what has been published in this paper shuttles from caltrain to these campuses would do no good. Caltrain is so full they are adding cars to their trains.

Traffic problems abound in the Bay Area. The backup on 280 south to Page Mill is horrendous.
But I do wonder--why do we have to have a traffic light on every block of downtown El Camino? This isn't the case on El Camino in Palo Alto and traffic there seems to move better (and you can't tell me they have less traffice)
That said, I am happy that Facebook has acquired the property. We have too many vacant lots.

"This isn't the case on El Camino in Palo Alto "

Palo Alto has far more lights on ECR, even adjusted for total mileage, than does MP.

Traffic on ECR in Palo Alto moves more smoothly for two reasons:
1 - it is all 6 lanes
2 - the traffic lights are carefully synchronized.