Dear City Council Members:
 
As I know some of you are aware, Hillview School is holding a meeting
this Tuesday, January 30th at 7pm in the multi purpose room. At the
meeting they will discuss the merits of two different plans for adding
capacity for the projected increased enrollment at Hillview.
 
One plan remodels the school at its current location. This plan keeps
the drop off and pick up lane on Elder. The plan is also $10-15 million
cheaper. The proponents of this plan prefer it because the new building
can be built while the students are housed in the old building. It
would also be finished one year more quickly than the other plan.
 
The second plan puts the drop off and pick up lane on Santa Cruz Avenue.
(This plan is $10-15 million more expensive.) I am very concerned about
the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists on Santa Cruz if this plan is
approved. This plan would not only add cars to Santa Cruz, it would
also have more parents dropping their kids off on Santa Cruz or the
surrounding streets (Olive, Hillview, Hobart, Cotton) who would then
walk to school. In dropping their kids off, they would cut through the
bike lane, potentially injuring a cyclist. In opening their car doors,
they might force a pedestrian or biker to swerve into traffic.
 
This is the worst idea to impact Santa Cruz Avenue since the disastrous
traffic island fisasco a few years ago.
 
I also foresee the need for the city to pick up the tab for a traffic
light at Olive and Santa Cruz. I think the emergency services teams
will have more accidents to deal with as well. In addition, I am
concerned that emergency services would not be able to get through Santa
Cruz Avenue at drop off or pick up times if traffic is bumper to bumper
and parents pull over to drop off their kids in the shoulder.
 
With the budget crisis that we have already in Menlo Park, I don't see
how we would have the money to pay for the results of this plan.
 
Please support the other plan to remodel the school in its current
location in order to save money, keep the traffic moving on Santa Cruz,
and keep the children safe on their way to school.
 
Thank you for your time and consideration!
Carolyn Bowsher
1110 Hillview Drive
Csbowsher@aol.com <mailto:Csbowsher@aol.com>
 
Received on Mon Jan 29 00:00:41 2007