Menlo Park City Council:
 
Unfortunately I cannot make tonight's meeting, but wanted to voice my concerns about the Dumbarton Rail Project.

I am a resident of Suburban Park and am very concerned about this project. Everything I have read has made me question why this extremely expensive project is even being entertained. Before moving forward, I ask you to strongly consider the negative impacts to our neighborhood and the others affected by this.

For starters, the noise and vibration will be disruptive to families in close proximity to the track. Stories of trains going through the neighborhood in the middle of the night concern me as a mother of a 14-month old, and hopefully more children to come. We cherish our quiet neighborhood and work extremely hard to be able to afford to live there. We jokingly, fondly refer to Suburban Park as a 1950's neighborhood in the 21st century. Our area is in extremely high demand and such a disruptive change to our area would certainly make it less desirable and family friendly.

The pollution from the trains is something that will harm our entire community. I work for Yahoo!, a very socially responsible company, and we are constantly looking for ways to reduce our impact on pollution. I admire my company's forward-thinking and I would hope that our city would follow industry leaders in making responsible choices. Our health and wellbeing is in your hands.

Another thing to consider is that this will negatively impact traffic at the rail crossings and the safety of our children. If the idea is to improve commute time for East Bay residents, shouldn't Menlo Park residents be given the same courtesy? I drive over the Marsh Road tracks at commute time and would be greatly impacted by trains crossing through. Also, as my son grows up, I would love for him to be able to ride his bike through the area without having to worry even more about his safety.

And if it's all about the bottom line, please consider this. All of these factors and more are very likely to decrease property values which will, in turn, decrease the amount the city is able to raise in taxes. As I mentioned, our neighborhood is in high demand. People are buying, rebuilding and making huge improvements to the homes in our neighborhood. As prices continue to rise, it's not only good for homeowners, it's good for tax revenues.
 
Quite frankly, I have trouble seeing what the positives of this project are for our city. The number of people who will benefit from this seems minimal to the number of people who will be negatively impacted. It makes much more sense financially and environmentally to consider a bus system that will service this commuter need.

There are many things we can't change, but this is one way that we can truly consider what's best for the future of our community, our children and our environment. If you do move forward, I ask that you strongly consider mitigation measures. This will impact our home and our city for years to come and--if it's going to be done at all--it should be done right.
 
Thank you for your consideration.
 
Sincerely,
Amy Heinz
Concerned Menlo Park Resident & Mother
Received on Tue May 22 14:42:53 2007