Re Ravenswood grade separation: When I first moved to Menlo Park in 1965, this grade separation was under discussion. Eve since, it has been talk, talk, talk, while Redwood City and other cities got to work and built grade separations in a few of heavily traveled arteries.
The current access and exit to the Menlo Park Library is nothing short of ridiculous when you return westward.

We basically need more throughways from El Camino to Middlefield in southern Menlo Park near the Palo Alto border. Middle Ave should be opened as part of the Stanford project so there can be two access ways on that stretch of El Camino. There are several throughways further down in Atherton that don't get used because all of the northbound traffic is bottled up between Sand Hill Rd and Ravenswood.

When the barriers were first put up, my immediate thought was: Palo Alto 1, Menlo Park 0. The crush of cars at El Camino/Ravenswood is not about Menlo Park residents hurrying home, but rather Palo Alto workers hurrying to the freeway. Palo Alto has been successful at discouraging the University-Avenue-to-the-freeway route, and passing the El Camino traffic on to the Willows community. The barriers only reinforce the conception that this is an area to speed through - why worry about AXIS or the library? Or the residents who live near the Sunset property? Sad.

The residents who live near the Sunset property love the barriers. Many of us use Ravenswood as our main route to get to and from our homes, and thanks to the barrier, we no longer have to worry about cars darting across the street at Alma. The new turn signal at Laurel has also been a hge plus. It's unfortunate that these long-overdue safety measures have hurt the business of a few people, but perhaps they can get past their own self-interest and consider the benefits to thousands of others.

" but perhaps they can get past their own self-interest and consider the benefits to thousands of others."

You mean self-interest like trying to make living? That self-interest? Can we come interfere with your making a living too? Is that ok?

Interfering with anyone's livelihood should be a crime! How dare people suggest that axis customers be forced to drive a different route to get to their gym?

I was in a similar situation when the Palo Alto medical clinic moved from Homer to El Camino. A terrible mistake! Patients would have to endure a much less pleasant drive and would stop visiting the doctor. It would be the end of my career!

Except...it wasn't. And Axis clients will adapt too. They can't be any stupider than my patients!

Pedestrian safety has improved greatly with the installation of the barrier blocking through traffic on Alma. The AXIS owners are biased on the matter so their opinion bears little weight.