I've been giving feedback to the city about the Willow Oaks Park in general, and the dog section in particular, for many years. And for a least ten years, I have been assured that the park is slated for improvements, including bathrooms, improved dog facilities (water, benches, play/agility structures, and a new surface, etc.). I've attended workshops to provide input both at the park itself at the community center. While I appreciate the opportunity to provide input, I have little confidence about action.

I've come to know many of the maintenance people who do their best to keep this particular park looking good. The adjacent soccer and baseball fields are extensively used under a shared arrangement with the Ravenswood School district. The playing surfaces are often pockmarked with gopher holes and weeds dominate large sections. The baseball dugouts, backstop, and associated fencing needs paint and repair. The baseball storage shed was recently re-built (thanks!), but the infield is dried to a crisp. A pathway through the park to the parking lot of the German-America school needs more lighting as it is frequented by a lot of pedestrians at night.

I don't play tennis so I can't speak to the repair of the courts, but I do know that they get resurfaced periodically and new shade structures have been installed.

Parking remains an issue, especially when little league games are going on. Fortunately, many parents now go straight to the school parking lot and leave the lot off of Willow for tennis players and dog walkers.

During the winter, the dog park becomes a morass to be avoided. The city gave up on trying to grow grass there and lay in some tree bark, but drainage remains a problem and a better surface is needed for the safety of dogs and humans alike. I own a small dog and would appreciate a small dog area, but as the dog space is already fairly small I don't know if that's in the cards. So I avoid it when large dogs are present.

A few homeless people use it to overnight. I've come to know some of them (tend to be vets) and I'm not concerned about their presence. However, with an adjacent pre-school I can understand that some parents may be wary.

The drinking fountain near the tennis area tends to be plugged up a good deal of the time, but at least it works. Still, there's no easy way to provide water for your dog.

I didn't see the message until today, and I rarely have the time to go to "public meetings." It would be great if Menlo Park were to accept "public input" electronically. For example, in re parks, the City has made a grave error in failing to reserve parkland in connection with the M2 rezoning. It can still try to recover by including in its parks master plan playing fields, tennis courts and play areas to accommodate needs of the thousands of residents to be added as a result of the rezoning, as well as by accelerating the replacement of the Belle Havens swimming pool.