Dear Menlo Park City Council -

We represent Felton Gables Homeowners Association. Felton Gables is a neighborhood (of 115 homes) bordering the Encinal School. We understand that the City Council has approved a project to develop a Safe Routes to School Plan for Encinal School and that on January 15 the City Manager is recommending entering into an agreement with DKS Associates to develop that plan.

We, as Felton Gables homeowners, request that Felton Drive and other streets within Felton Gables be included as a part of the study and that our neighborhood of Felton Gables specifically be added to the proposed neighborhood meetings. The school district uses our streets as its "overflow" parking area. Our neighborhood has many children that walk or bike to school but not under the safest conditions. We have narrow residential streets with no sidewalks. Even with the present student population, the combination of cars parking on our streets during school pick-up hours, backing in and out of driveways, and making U-turns, mixed with neighborhood children walking and riding their bikes to school, is very unsafe. When the student population doubles and includes K - 2 children, it will become much more dangerous unless steps are taken.

There have been numerous accidents at the corner of Felton Drive and Encinal Avenue closest to Encinal School. Following requests from our neighborhood, Charles Taylor, Menlo Park Transportation Manager, has directed Nathan Scribner in the Menlo Park Engineering Division to install a concrete vertical curb at the corner of Felton Drive and Encinal Avenue. This is to prevent cars from cutting the corner (and parking on the corner) forcing children on bikes and on foot to walk into the street. But additional steps are needed to protect pedestrians and bikers, including children, from the traffic and speeding cars and trucks at this intersection.

Therefore, we are also suggesting that a three-way stop sign be installed at the corner of Encinal Avenue and Felton Drive. Hopefully this can provide a safe crossing point (all day, not just for the few minutes that the school provides crossing guards) and can possibly slow down the Encinal Avenue traffic that will inevitably increase significantly with the increased school enrollment and with the addition of the proposed traffic light at Encinal Avenue and Middlefield Road which will be a magnet for more traffic to use Encinal Avenue.

We ask that someone contact us directly about our neighborhood being included as an official participant in the project.

Judy Font and Elizabeth Blois
Co-Presidents, Felton Gables Homeowners Association Received on Tue Jan 15 12:15:35 2008