Sidewalks and bike lanes on this street is a no-brainer. Why is the city taking so long to do this? Residents have been complaining about the lack of sidewalks here for decades. Safety for pedestrians and bicyclists is far more important than subsidized on-street car parking.

Quote: "Menlo Park would have to reclaim at least part of its property to create the sidewalks." This is not correct. "Alternative 7," developed in conjunction with property owners, would allow the construction of a 5 foot sidewalk without extending the paved area, by eliminating parking. Personally, I favor the City's "Preferred Alternative" (only released last week) which contemplates a 2 foot extension of the paved area, to make room for a 2 foot buffer for the bike lane in addition to a 5 foot sidewalk.

The boundary of the City's right of way is far from clear. My own house on Santa Cruz Ave. was built in 1924. What were homeowners expected to do? Wait 91 years for the City to decide if it wanted sidewalks? Keep the land barren just in case? I have a potentially impacted redwood on my property with a trunk 10 feet in diameter. If trees like this are destroyed, it will take generations to replace them.

I believe most of the property owners are responsible and reasonable people, who want what is best for Menlo Park, just like other residents do. The way to achieve that is to have a calm and reasoned discussion about what is needed, and what might be lost. I believe sidewalks and better bike lanes are needed, and they can be accommodated without losing the heritage trees and other landscaping that give Menlo Park its character. I don't think residents will like the result if the City scrapes the side of the street to the full 68 foot width the City claims they own, and paves it over. The result of that would be sterile and uninviting, more like Cupertino than Menlo Park. We would have sidewalks, but no one would want to use them. Menlo Park deserves better than that.