Dear Council Members-
First of all let me thank you for your service to our city. It's not an easy job trying to help steer the City in a direction that
works for everyone, and you are not only trying to manage financial decisions, but functional and emotional ones too. I am the
daughter of a long standing City Manager/council member in the Midwest so I know how much time can be involved.
I've lived on Sharon Road between La Entrada and The Alameda for 36 years. I have attended many meetings over the years about
traffic in the greater West Menlo Park area, including the County of San Mateo projects like The Alameda down by the Dutch Goose.
One of the recent meetings I attended was about the area on The Alameda between Sand Hill by the golf course and the Dutch
Goose/'Y' intersection area. The overall feeling was that cars are going too fast in that area and it's causing accidents and
unsafe circumstances for pedestrians.
I'd like to point out that the area mentioned has sidewalks and wide lanes. I'm afraid if Sharon Road gets widened and has
sidewalks cars will start going faster like on The Alameda. I walk a lot in the mornings when the students are going to school,
and during the day. We have a lot of traffic on our street, and vehicles parked on the sides. What happens is the motorists slow
down a lot because the road is more narrow and they then pay much more attention to the situation on the street.
As I said, I've lived here for 36 years and there has never been an accident involving a student on Sharon Road that I am aware
of. I believe if there was we would have heard a lot about it.
Councilman Ray Mueller was here last year and asked about installing sidewalks. He said at that time he was investigating opening
discussions about it, not actually installing them. I have not gotten a notice to residents of any work planned either.
Please do not install sidewalks on Sharon Road.
Thank you again for your service.
Sincerely,
Kristin Smith