Yearly Archives: 2015


Isn’t It Time To Eliminate Unnecessary Traffic On El Camino?

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“After three decades of lobbying, negotiation, and litigation, the (Sand Hiil) road was finally completed to El Camino Real in 2001. Only the existing portion from just north of Alameda de las Pulgas to just south of Stanford Shopping Center was widened to four lanes; the new extension past the shopping center was built only as two lanes.”Wikipedia


What’s Wrong With The Current Intersection At Sand Hill And El Camino Real

When you read the traffic circulation section of the Specific Plan you immediately notice that there is no treatment of the major El Camino Real intersection which lies just south of the Menlo Park-Palo Alto border.


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This is a big omission because the existing configuration UNNECESSARILY causes Palo Alto Alma – Sand Hill Road traffic to travel (a) through the intersection twice and (b) between El Camino Real and Cambridge Avenue twice. Effectively, Cambridge Avenue becomes a virtual pivot point for a traffic loop and the short length of El Camino Real part of an ingress and exit to and from Sand Hill and Alma. Also, the traffic coming from Alma must cross multiple lanes of ECR to reach the left turn at Cambridge, and at peak traffic times this can be extremely difficult. If a westbound driver either cannot safely reach this left turn or the left turn line is too long,  they likely continue and either make a u-turn back to Sand Hill at Middle Ave OR turn left and travel to Oak to reach Sand Hill Road. This configuration contributes significantly to current Menlo Park traffic congestion on a stretch of El Camino that is expected to carry much more when the 500 ECR development is completed.


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This connection was controversial when built, and it will become a much bigger problem when Stanford completes its development at 500 ECR in Menlo Park. Palo Alto fought against a direct connection between Alma and Sand Hill, and Caltrans yielded to its demands. While Menlo Park clearly had skin in the game it lacked any authority to stop this decision. Why Caltrans accepted this odd solution remains a mystery to me. There is substantial traffic flowing through this intersection. 


What Menlo Park Should Do About This Problem

Since Stanford must perform a project-level Environmental Impact Report for 500 ECR, Menlo Park should require Stanford to study the expected impact of the current configuration and a direct connection between Alma and Sand Hill Road. It should also require Stanford to study the impact of making the narrow two-lane section of Sand Hill Road between El Camino and Arboretum four lanes wide.  


Let’s Make A Section of Santa Cruz Avenue An Appealing Pedestrian-Friendly Main Street

What will it take to transform downtown Menlo Park into a vibrant and beautiful hub for shopping and social activities? And is it even possible? Most residents would say provide “a more appealing mix of shops and restaurants and make parking more convenient”, but actually accomplishing such a big transformation has remained a huge challenge even now when the regional economy has performed well.  I believe that it IS possible and there has never been a better time to try.  It will take a modified vision for downtown, well-coordinated bold steps by our city government, businesses and residents, and strong city leadership and community support. In this document I propose converting a three-block section of Santa Cruz Avenue into special pedestrian-friendly main street that rebalances the mix of pedestrian and vehicle usages. This would NOT be a pedestrian-only mall as most in the U.S. have failed for good reasons.


 Current Situation

Downtown Menlo Park is neither a prosperous nor struggling business district. Businesses generally do well and the amount of vacancies and business turnover is not unusual. There have been few property sales, major structure renovations, and new construction because family property owners have generally placed properties in private trusts rather than sell them. Therefore, there have been no dramatic changes in the mix of businesses in Menlo Park unlike what has occurred in neighboring Palo Alto and Redwood downtowns. There the trend has been to add more restaurants, cafes, pubs and specialized niche businesses. The Stanford Shopping Center dominates the local market for high-end products – especially household and fashion items – and for the more general products sold in department stores. Menlo Park and Atherton residents mostly shop and dine in places other than downtown Menlo Park and say it offers too few appealing options.


 Making Downtown Menlo Park Special

Menlo Park should create a downtown that serves Menlo Park and Atherton residents, guests and workers rather than attempt to directly compete with the nearby Stanford Shopping Center and downtown Palo Alto. These consumer alternatives have unique attributes that make them regional destination spots for thousands of daily visitors. Instead, Menlo Park should leverage its own set of strengths and advantages. It’s traffic and parking problems are much less severe.  It’s older downtown structures and extensive parking plazas offer tremendous opportunities for re-vitalization. And within the next 4-5 years, multi-use developments planned for 500 and 1300 El Camino Real will together attract about 700 new residents and 1500 new workers with easy access to the Santa Cruz shopping district. These changes could have a huge positive impact on downtown Menlo Park.

Argument For A Pedestrian Promenade

 A pedestrian-friendly street would be the catalyst that triggers a positive dynamic process:

  • Menlo Park and Atherton residents will be attracted to downtown by new amenities, activities and regular entertainment, and more attractive setting for existing cafes and restaurants, and Menlo Park can leverage its commitment to a pedestrian-friendly street to attract a few anchor businesses that generate significant foot-traffic. A microbrewery, pub-style restaurant, and “Café Barrone-like” café would be ideal. 
  • An increase in downtown usage will boost the profitability of downtown businesses and attract new ones.
  • An increasingly appealing mix of businesses and greater downtown vitality will in turn generate even greater usage by “residents” and workers.
  • As word spreads of a “new Menlo Park” consumers who either live in the area or visit Palo Alto, Redwood City and the Stanford Shopping Center will ALSO visit Menlo Park’s downtown. Then Menlo Park will become an attractive secondary destination.

Not A Pedestrian Mall

More than 200 American cities have build pedestrian malls in order to compete with suburban malls, and 89% have failed for good reasons. I encourage reading of The American Experience With Pedestrian Malls downloadable from http://bit.ly/pedestrian-malls

Primary causes of pedestrian mall failures.

  • Prohibited cars
  • Tried to replicate the suburban shopping center experience
  • Provide inadequate parking

A small number of small cities (less than 100,000 residents) have built successful pedestrian malls. Church Street Marketplace (Burlington Vermont), Pearl Street Mall (Boulder Colorado), Main Street Downtown Mall (Charlottesville Virginia) are a few good examples.

 Pedestrian mall success factors:

  • Small number of blocks ( four or less)
  • Variety of activities and active uses
  • Many nearby residents and workers
  • Attractive design for walkers, shoppers, reading, people-watching
  • Beautiful aesthetics
  • Strong anchor businesses
  • Convenient parking
  • Strong central management
  • Heavy schedule of regular events, activities, entertainment
  • Local college nearby
  • Near a popular tourist destination
  • Convenient public transit

A Pedestrian-Friendly Main Street Success Factors

Would be the same as  successful pedestrian mall but allow vehicles and some on-street parking.

Would take advantage of Menlo Parks…

  • Proximity to affluent Menlo Park and Atherton nearby neighborhoods.
  • Proximity to Menlo College, Stanford University and high schools.
  • Proximity to downtown Palo Alto, Redwood City and the Stanford Shopping center.
  • New nearby residents, workers and guests generated by the Greenheart and Stanford developments.

 

Anchor Business Model

Café Barrone in Menlo Park is an excellent example of the kind of anchor business and setting that contributes to the success of a pedestrian street.

  • Food, menu and service are excellent and prices are reasonable.
  • There is ample outdoor seating set a great distance from traffic.
  • The site enjoys sun mid-day thru late afternoon and it’s rarely windy; there are umbrellas if one prefers shade.
  • There is a fountain, an architectural arch, and the building that formerly housed the British Bankers Club.
  • It is located next to Kepler’s another Menlo Park favorite.
  • There is lots of parking nearby (on-site).
  • Never rushed customers can stay as long as they wish.
  • This is a good place to read, work, talk or simply “people watch”.


 Pedestrian-Friendly Street Proposal For Santa Cruz Avenue

I propose that Menlo Park build a three-block pedestrian street on Santa Cruz Avenue that runs between Doyle Street and Crane Street. This would entail: 

  • Eliminating the traffic lane and parking on the south side of Santa Cruz Avenue. 
  • Allow one-way traffic on the north side routed from the direction of El Camino Real. This traffic could turn right at Curtis, Chestnut and Crane or continue on Santa Cruz towards University Avenue.
  • Cross-traffic allowed only at Crane Street intersection and between Doyle and Murphy Streets.
  • The sidewalks on the traffic side of the pedestrian-friendly street would be widened where there is no street parking and this parking would be limited to 30 minutes or less.
  • The three short sections of sides streets running from Santa Cruz Avenue to the parking plazas on Curtis and Chestnut could be included as pedestrian-only extensions of the Pedestrian-friendly street. 

Menlo Park should undertake a multi-stage implementation of the pedestrian-friendly street starting with a full-scale design; establish evaluation criteria, solicit resident and business feedback on a regular basis; and implement high value changes and improvements. As individual blocks are added, help businesses on Santa Cruz create inviting back entrances from parking plazas.


Possible Road Map

  • Step 1: Expand “sidewalk” dining areas like what is being done at the Left Bank
  • Step 2: Close off one side of one block between Doyle Street and Curtis, create walking and dining space, and add public benches and additional amenities. Provide suitable live music and other entertainment on a regular and predictable basis. Persuade a pub or micro-brewery and a “Barrone 2″ to open somewhere on or near Santa Cruz between Doyle and Crane.
  • Step 3: Add the block between Curtis Street to Chestnut Street.
  • Step 4: Add the block from Chestnut to Crane.

 

 

 

View the pedestrian-friendly street layout and one potential implementation road map.

A Less Attractive Alternative: Regular Temporary Street Closures

A few residents have asked the reasonable question: why build a promenade downtown on a section of Santa Cruz Avenue when the option of temporary street closure already exists whenever its needed? In the past Menlo Park has closed Santa Cruz Avenue for art fairs and block parties. So instead of permanently closing blocks why not simply close it on a regular basis when there are no events?

  • A temporary street closure would neither be as attractive nor have the variety of appealing amenities as a permanent closure – think mature trees, fountains, and sculpture
  • The more temporary amenities provided, the more work it takes to install and remove them
  • Restaurants and cafes would be expected to purchase and manage tables and chairs that would only be used when the street was closed.
  • Residents would need to grow accustomed to the temporary closure schedule.


Existing & Future Downtown Parking

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Both residents and visitors frequently complain about parking time limits downtown and $45 parking citations, and office workers and retail employees constantly move their cars to avoid them – or the cost of daily parking permits. Menlo Park’s Specific Plan assumes two future downtown parking structures will be needed to handle projected future growth and civic improvements downtown, and three possible locations were identified. Is it time for Menlo Park to start planning to build the first one?

A series of posts will deal with “parking downtown”. This initial one reviews current parking and the Specific Plan.


Parking Today

There are currently about 1600 short-term public parking spaces downtown including 1200 in the parking plazas. Public Parking is MOSTLY free – as it is in nearby Palo Alto and the Stanford Shopping Center – and is limited to two hours per parking plaza per day. Drivers are allowed to re-park in a DIFFERENT parking plaza.

There are 685 fee-based, daily downtown parking permits sold each year (57% of the total spaces) so about 500 parking spaces (43%) are available for short term parking during normal work hours.

The current demand for parking varies greatly by day and time of day. Midday parking Monday thru Friday can entail a long walk to one’s destination; on weekends it seems to vary by plaza. In the evening parking spaces are readily available all week in all public parking plazas.

The demand for parking space comes largely from retail employees, residents and small office workers. Downtown Menlo Park is NOT a popular destination for visitors.


Specific Plan

The future demand for public parking spaces will depend on a few primary factors including the relative appeal of going downtown versus other places nearby, the convenience of parking options and the cost, if any, of parking and violations.

The City’s Specific Plan provides a number of informative high-level perspectives on how Menlo Park could provide additional downtown parking with either one or two parking structures. Figure 1 shows the potential sites of parking structures. Figure 2 shows the amount of additional parking that might be provided.

The addition of one parking structure is shown to increase downtown parking by about 440 spaces (from 1200 to 1660) or about 35%. However, if the amount of daily downtown permits were limited to say 800 – an increase of 115, the amount of short term public parking could increase by 325 spaces (from 500 to 825) or 65%!

(Note: A smaller structure would reduce the amount of parking by about 120 space per level. Perhaps, the initial cost of the structure could be reduced with a modular design that added some levels as they were needed.)

Anyone who is interested in this issue should carefully read the Downtown Parking section of the Specific Plan. Here is a link to that section.


Figure 1 – Potential Parking Structure Sites

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Figure 2 – Potential Downtown Public Parking Supply

parking supply downtown

Short Term Solutions

Can Menlo Park figure out how to better manage its the current supply of public parking spaces? One option is to change the current limits on maximum parking times in different locations. This will be explored in a future post.


What Is The Menlo Park Specific Plan?

There remains a great deal of confusion

about what the Menlo Park Specific Plan is, and is not.

 


I was reminded of this when some residents responded negatively to my recent post “Should Menlo Park Make Santa Cruz Avenue A Pedestrian Street”. They believe I am advocating a change to the Specific Plan and said they felt this would cause big delays in its implementation. They did NOT offer any facts to support their opinions but nevertheless felt strongly about them, one even suggested I needed to read it. I agree that IS the best way to understand the Specific Plan; however, during the past nine months, I have found few people who have. I recommend that every resident who has a strong interest in the future public and private development of downtown and El Camino Real invest the time to read it. At more than a hundred pages the Specific Plan looks a bit intimidating at first but it is well-written. Just read it a section or two at a time. You can view it at the City website. I will provide a few relevant points in this post.


The Official Statement of Purpose in The Specific Plan

“The El Camino Real/Downtown Specific Plan establishes a framework for private and public improvements on El Camino Real, in the Caltrain station area and in downtown Menlo Park for the next several decades. The plan’s focus is on the character and extent of enhanced public spaces, the character and intensity of private infill development and circulation and connectivity improvements. It includes a strategy for implementation of public space improvements, such as wider sidewalks and plazas, and other infrastructure improvements. The overall intent of the El Camino Real/Downtown Specific Plan is to preserve and enhance community life, character and vitality through public space improvements, mixed use infill projects sensitive to the small-town character of Menlo Park and improved connectivity. As discussed later in more detail, the Specific Plan reflects the outcome of an extensive community outreach and engagement process.

  • Encourages infill development of vacant and under-utilized lots along El Camino Real through increased intensities, coupled with strict building modulation and ground-floor setback and building profile requirements that both attenuate the mass and scale of larger buildings and create wider public sidewalks;
  • Retains the existing “village” character downtown by keeping buildings low and requiring varied building massing, including through building profile and façade modulation requirements;
  • Increases downtown activity, foot traffic and transit use through enhanced public spaces, mixed-use infill projects (including residential uses) and higher intensities of development near the commuter rail station;
  • Enhances community life through an integrated network of widened sidewalks, promenades, pocket parks and public gathering spaces; and
  • Enhances east-west connectivity across El Camino Real through crosswalk and sidewalk improvements, while accommodating north-south vehicular through-traffic, and across the railroad tracks through grade-separated pedestrian and bicycle connections.

The illustrative plan, as shown in Figure A1, depicts how the plan area could potentially build out over the next several decades in conformance with the overall planning principles and within the land use and development regulations and design guidelines contained in subsequent chapters. It is important to emphasize that the illustrative plan indicates only one potential development concept and that the actual build-out will likely vary from the initial projection.


The Brief Definition Of The Specific Plan On The City Website

“A specific plan is a comprehensive, action-oriented set of rules for a specific geographic area. For Menlo Park, the El Camino Real / Downtown Specific Plan sets the direction for the heart of the city over the coming decades. It builds on the successful 2007-2008 Vision Plan process, which established twelve key goals. The Specific Plan defines what our community desires for its future by regulating land use and defining other aspects of possible future public and private development.


What The Specific Plan Does Not Provide

While the Specific Plan analyzes possible opportunities like more downtown parking and possible options that would conform to the comprehensive zoning regulations in the Specific Plan, it did NOT decide which public projects would be implemented.

  • So there is no public development roadmap or timetable.
  • There is no prioritization of public infrastructure improvements.
  • There is no capital or expense budget that estimates costs and potential sources of funding.
  • There is no published timetable for creating the above items. All were assumed would be addressed after the Specific Plan was finally approved (end of 2013).

Some Implications

  • The city still needs to decide which specific big ideas, e.g., parking structures merit additional evaluations so residents can buy-into them, or not.
  • Any public improvement idea that conforms to the Specific Plan can be considered worthy of evaluation by our City Council, it will decide which ones and when.
  • Our City Council welcomes resident input and has invited residents to submit their ideas by January 26 so the City Council can consider them when it set its 2015 priorities.
  • There remains a lot of hard work ahead and I hope you will support our City Council as they lead the way.

Why A Pedestrian Street On Santa Cruz Avenue Makes Sense.

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There are good reasons why a Santa Cruz pedestrian street could boost the vitality of Downtown Menlo Park.

 

  • While many resident say they would frequent downtown IF there were “a more attractive mix of shops and restaurants”, there is too little foot traffic to justify opening a new business – especially if you know what your doing. The financial challenge and risk are too high. No retail business or restaurant wants to be responsible for generating all it’s own foot traffic.
  • Since we are in the midst of good economic times any businessperson who is willing to take a chance and open a new business downtown has likely already done so. (Imagine what it will be like when the economy goes thru another down cycle.) But the economic recovery has largely passed downtown Menlo Park by.
  • We will get out of this predicament only if we help our existing businesses do better. If they do well, others will come. The marketplace ultimately determines when an investment is a good idea not our desires.
  • So the critical step is to get more residents downtown by making the experience appealing. For example, Café Barrone is likely the most successful food establishment in town. Why? Food and service is clearly excellent but the outdoor ambience is critically important. Lot’s of seating distant from traffic, plenty of afternoon sun, it’s quiet enough to enjoy a conversation, and there is sufficient co-located underground parking. None of our existing downtown restaurants can offer a similar experience – but a pedestrian street would.
  • There are many ways other cities have used pedestrian streets to attract residents and customers. Regular events. Attractive places to stroll. Comfortable seating to rest feet and people watch. Interesting sculpture. Beautiful fountains, landscaping and flowers. Things kids can explore. It takes a lot of work but it does work.
  • Menlo Park cannot hope to become a destination spot like the Stanford Shopping Center or Downtown Palo Alto, nor do I believe that desirable. But Menlo Park has significant advantages that should be leveraged: Menlo Park is adjacent to Atherton, one of the wealthiest towns in America and one that does NOT have its own downtown, there are three large high schools and one small college near downtown, and the two multi-use developments planned for El Camino could supply more downtown foot traffic and hundreds of new customers.

 

Menlo Park does not need to initially create a long pedestrian street that extends the full length of Santa Cruz Avenue. I recommend that it collect the best ideas it can in a SHORT period – from those who have operated successful ones and then experiment on a single block, one where a couple of restaurants or cafes already exists. Even if they are not on the block they might still be close enough to serve tables in the pedestrian-only area. Then we would have lots of useful data on what works and doesn’t, and why. Strong progress is an exercise in “bold steps” followed by constant improvements.


Should Santa Cruz Avenue Be Partly A Pedestrian Street?

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View comments on the Nextdoor neighborhood network.

What will it take to transform downtown Menlo Park into a vibrant and beautiful hub for shopping and social activities? Whatever, the answer, Menlo Park should not try to directly compete with either the nearby Stanford Shopping Center or downtown Palo Alto on their terms, but rather develop its own unique appeal. One approach is to emulate the successes of other small cities that have built pedestrian streets in their central districts. Burlington Vermont, Boulder Colorado, Charlottesville Virginia, and Salem Massachusetts come to mind. Both Burlington and Salem have been rejuvenated by their pedestrian-only business districts. A similar solution for Menlo Park woud require multiple well-integrated private and public investments and a well-orchestrated community effort.

  • A four-block pedestrian street between El Camino Real and University Avenue
  • Adequate parking nearby
  • An appealing mix of stores, restaurants, cafes
  • Attractive  public infrastructure, e.g., places for outdoor dining, benches, seating areas, landscaping
  • A space that supports public events, e.g., farmers market, street fairs, entertainment

Church Street Marketplace – Burlington Vermont

Pearl Street Mall – Boulder Colorado



My Comment  On The Oaks Neighborhood Social Network (Nextdoor) – January 18 2015

Our downtown lacks enough appeal to compete with nearby alternatives. The Stanford Shopping Center( SSC) is one of the most successful high-end malls in the country but the rents are so high few businesses can generate enough revenue to make it worthwhile. Downtown Palo Alto is following in the steps of Mountain Views by becoming a “restaurant/cafe/coffee house/bar destination and again rents are a HUGE problem for other types of businesses. Palo Alto and to a lesser degree Mountain View also have many workers downtown. And finally both SSC and Palo Alto benefit from being “associated” with Stanford and are vibrant (fun), attractive and fun places to simply stroll and “window shop” and “people watch”. Menlo Park does suffer a geographical disadvantage being so close to the alternatives but that does not mean we should accept defeat. I believe we could compete if we made downtown Menlo Park a beautiful place where people want to stroll, visit a variety of small shops that cannot afford other places, sit and socialize in pleasant spots, view some interesting sculpture, dine on attractive patios, and enjoy outdoor weekend and evening entertainment. We simply need to ask our residents for their ideas and show them possibilities. Finally, I do not believe our downtown plan precludes consideration of this idea. If we settle for incremental improvements downtown our city will become even less competitive and enjoyable.


What Priorities Should The Menlo Park City Council Set for Fiscal Year 2015-2016?

View comments on the Nextdoor neighborhood network.

Overall, our city needs to aggressively start to IMPLEMENT the best ideas in our Specific Plan. That means enough funds need to be included in the capital expenditure budget to evaluate, plan and initiate the ones with the highest priority. The two major multi-use projects planned for El Camino Real represent great opportunities to improve downtown and ECR. Let’s ensure they are the best possible additions to our community, and we make the public investments needed to maximize their benefits.

My Highest Priorities

Here is the “wish list” I submitted to the City Council in January 2015. I am NOT proposing that all be completed in 2015, rather each should be accomplished within 3-5 years with appropriate steps taken in FY2015.

  • Ensure the Stanford (500 ECR) and Greenheart (1300) projects contribute the maximum benefits to Menlo Park while minimizing negative impacts.
  • Make Santa Cruz Avenue a much more appealing place to dine, shop, walk, sit and enjoy outdoor events and activities.
  • Create more convenient short term public parking and reduce the percentage of downtown annual daytime permit users.
  • Complete the “natural grid” of bike corridors that would provide convenient, safe and stress-free to any popular destination or travel point in Menlo Park.

What are your ideas? Please make sure you submit them to our city council so they know what you want.

NOTE: The Menlo Park 2015 fiscal year starts on July 1, 2015


Follow Re-Imagine Menlo Park On Nextdoor 2

 

You can easily follow, comment and share Re-Imagine Menlo Park posts on the Nextdoor neighborhood social network. Posts appear in eight neighborhoods and archived here.

  • The Oaks
  • Stanford University
  • Central Menlo Park
  • Allied Arts
  • West Menlo Park
  • West Menlo – Sharon Road to Sand Hill
  • Sharon Heights
  • West Atherton

Please note:  posts on Nextdoor lack conventional formatting;  they are formatted on the Re-Imagine Menlo Park website.


The Stanford And Greenheart Projects Are Great Opportunities

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Dramatic changes are coming to El Camino Real in Menlo Park over the next 3 to 5 years as Stanford and Greenheart invest hundreds of millions of dollars in two large multi-use developments. Nine vacant lots will be transformed into attractive residential, retail and office complexes with public plazas, underground parking and well-landscaped grounds. These private investments present huge opportunities for Menlo Park to upgrade both its El Camino Real and Santa Cruz business districts. But complementary public investments are also needed.

New Residents & Workers

Both Stanford and Greenheart are required to fund independently generated environmental impact reports for their individual projects. Together they are currently expected to add about 700 new residents, 1500 new office workers, 100 retail workers, and an unknown number of visitors to the ECR district. If the Menlo Park downtown is appealing and access is convenient, these consumers will spend time and money there. This in turn, will attract more small businesses. If downtown does not change, a majority of these consumers will go elsewhere.

Greenheart Estimate

  • Residents: 480
  • Retail: 58
  • Office Workers: 627

Stanford Estimate

  • Residents: 225
  • Retail: TBD
  • Office Workers: 800

New Ways To Attract Consumers

Here are just a few ideas:

1. Run free convenient lunchtime shuttles between the Stanford project and Santa Cruz Avenue.

2. Add an inviting park or plaza in a central location of the Santa Cruz district.

3. Hold evening cultural events in a central plaza or park.

4. Widen sidewalks to create attractive outdoor dining areas.

5. Increase downtown parking spaces.

6. Make it safe and convenient for pedestrians to cross El Camino without interrupting traffic



Welcome To Re-Imagine Menlo Park 1

When was the last time you said – or heard someone else say:

“I love to spend time in downtown Menlo Park?”

 

I will admit at the start to not being a fan of Menlo Park’s two central business districts. The Santa Cruz shopping district has changed very little during my 29-year residency save for the frequent turnover of small businesses and improved landscaping, and other than a few good restaurants, two excellent grocery stores, several convenience stores and the post office there isn’t much that regularly attracts my family. Like most of my neighbors and Menlo Park friends we spend our recreational time and money elsewhere. Our stretch of El Camino also lacks appeal and has been aesthetically marred by nine vacant parcels for over five years. Meanwhile, Palo Alto, Mountain View, and the Stanford Shopping Center have all evolved into vibrant centers of economic and social activity, and the once tired Redwood City downtown is enjoying a dramatic resurgence fed by both private and public investments. Until this year I had resigned myself to the idea that Menlo Park would likely remain a bedroom community with a great location, a healthy regional economy, beautiful residential neighborhoods, top-notch schools, and first-rate city services and facilities but a mediocre “downtown”. Although our community had produced a fresh vision and regulations for new commercial development “downtown” and on El Camino, a small group of dissident residents immediately launched an attack on two planned large multi-use developments and attempted to impose severe limits through a ballot initiative. This delayed further city progress for almost a year. The failure of Measure M is significant. Menlo Park voters have strongly expressed their support for the Specific Plan, hundreds of residents are energized and advocating the city move forward, and both Stanford and Greenheart are now preparing compliant proposals for development projects that could help transform both Downtown and El Camino into beautiful and vibrant hubs for shopping, dining, socializing, walking, and biking. Stanford and Greenheart will invest hundreds of millions of dollars in attractive buildings, public plazas and grounds during the next three years, and their developments will attract hundreds of young professionals as residents and thousands more as office workers and visitors. These consumers could dramatically boost the vitality of Menlo Park but only if we make our central business districts relatively inviting compared to nearby alternatives. If it remains dull and lifeless they will go elsewhere. We now have a unique opportunity, one Menlo Park cannot afford to squander. I have heard many good and practical ideas for making Menlo Park a better place to live. Some address existing problems like traffic and parking; others involve civic improvements like attractive outdoor areas for strolling, conversing and dining. However, two things must happen if we wish to re-imagine Menlo Park and make it real. First, our current city council must fully commit to leading this effort, and second, our residents must support them with their time and talent. I am personally committed to this mission and will dedicate this blog to soliciting and sharing ideas; keeping residents informed of opportunities to get involved; evaluating issues and concerns; and supporting praiseworthy private and public investments. Let’s get going now.