As a resident of Menlo Park in the West Menlo neighborhood directly affected by the proposal to change the parking and traffic configuration on Middle Avenue (Item G-1 on the agenda for the meeting on Oct. 18), I cannot express more strongly my opposition to every element in the proposal.
I use Middle Avenue EVERY DAY as a bicyclist, motorist, and/or walker. There is absolutely no reason whatsoever to eliminate parking on Middle Avenue. This is a wide street with a bike lane that can easily accommodate both bicyclists and parked cars. I know this from personal experience.
The only reason there is perhaps some concern about bicyclists on the street is because some school children using this route to and from school are adamant about NOT following bicycle safety protocols. They insist on riding two or more abreast. Critical parking should not be eliminated because some children are inadequately instructed and bad mannered.
I never have a problem as a bicyclist or a motorist on Middle Avenue when there is a parked car or truck on the street. Moreover, this parking is essential for use by the people who use Nealon Park and neighborhood residents. With no street parking, they will all park in the Little House parking lot that is critical for use by visitors to Little House, largely seniors who need nearby parking to use the facility properly.
I am an active member of Peninsula Volunteers, Inc. and a Past President of the organization. It is unconscionable to create a situation on Middle Avenue that will force people who currently park on the street or in front of the park to do so in the PVI/Little House lot, squeezing out the seniors who use this facility.
I am also strongly opposed to the idea of a traffic circle at Middle and University. I bicycle several times a week in North Palo Alto, and I always fear the traffic circles on the streets there. It is difficulty to navigate them: what will a car do and with what timing when at the circle? A four-way stop, as exists currently at this Middle Avenue intersection, is far more predictable for both motorists and bicyclists.
Finally, while a continuous sidewalk on the south side of Middle Avenue might be nice, it is to me, as a pedestrian as well as bicyclist, totally unnecessary. Spend traffic mitigation dollars elsewhere.
Regards,
Mical Atz Brenzel
105 Garland Drive, Menlo Park
