Menlo Park City Council Members,

My name is Chris Arrington and I write this letter to share how much I
feel the Dumbarton Rail Project is a bad idea for Menlo Park and the
greater Bay Area. I live, work, go to church, and play in Menlo Park.
This is not just a city that I sleep in at night and then leave the
city to go off to work. In addition, this is not just a city that I
drive into to go to work.

The Dumbarton Rail Project will not only have a huge impact on my life
but the life of many Menlo Park, East Palo Alto, and Redwood City
residents with no recognized benefit. I live at 155 Hedge Road and my
house backs up to the railroad tracks. Currently rail cars pass my
house 3 to 4 times a week in the late evenings. Sometimes as late as
11:30 pm. And every time they pass, my house rocks. If this project
passes, I will have 3 to 6 cars (projected) passing my house in the
early morning to support only East Bay commuters.

Here are some of my questions:

If this project was such a good idea, why has it taken over 30 years to
get to this point?

How does this project benefit Menlo Park and surrounding neighborhoods?

There seems to be no riding benefit that I can see as a Menlo Park
resident. If I wanted to ride this train, I could only ride at night
and then I could not get home. Ridership only seems to benefit East
Bay residents.

How much money are they actually going to spend on this project? And
how long would it be for this project to be paid off? Whose paying for
it?

Couldn't this money be put to better use to support an expansion of
BART?

Please consider these questions as a City Council Member from someone
who lives in Menlo Park and will be directly affected (it is in my
backyard) by the position you and the other board members take.

Chris Arrington
Menlo Park Resident
School Psychologist - Menlo Park City School District
MPPC Member
MP Striker Parent and Coach
Received on Tue May 22 00:27:43 2007