Members of the City Council,

I have received no response from any member of the Menlo Park School Board nor from any District administrator to the email I sent nearly a month ago (see attached).

This is, unfortunately, consistent with the District's pattern over the past year.  The District pushes ahead with Oak Knoll School construction plans while leaving serious neighborhood concerns about pedestrian safety and traffic flow unaddressed.

The District has expressed certainty that the proposed curb cuts will receive City approval.  These curb cuts will impact safety on public streets.  Where  is the oversight?

I respectfully request that the Council agendize the proposed curb cuts for the Oak Knoll School renovation.

Thank you.

Nancy Andrus  

• On Wed, 5/28/08, nancy andrus <nealai@yahoo.com> wrote: From: nancy andrus <nealai@yahoo.com> Subject: Oak Knoll School - Oak Avenue parking lot To: board@mpcsd.org Cc: city.council@menlopark.org, KSteffens@menlopark.org, CWTaylor@menlopark.org, grojas@menlopark.org, gaus@menlofire.org Date: Wednesday, May 28, 2008, 1:11 PM

Members of the School Board,

I have expressed my concerns about the new Oak Avenue parking lot for over a year now.  These concerns, like so many others expressed by Oak Knoll parents, neighbors, and community members, have been ignored.  Let me try again.

Oak Avenue already exceeds its recommended maximum traffic load.  Oak Avenue is a main artery leading out of Menlo Park to Sand Hill Road, Stanford, and 280.  The street narrows to 24 feet in the section bordering school grounds.  With a long history of traffic problems, Oak Avenue has speed bumps and will have additional traffic calming measures installed within the next few months.

This section of Oak Avenue has only one sidewalk.  There is no bike lane.  The single sidewalk is used heavily by pedestrians, parents pushing strollers, runners, dog-walkers,  and bicycling families - particularly on weekends.  When cars park along Oak Avenue, the sidewalk is  blocked, forcing pedestrians and cyclists into automobile traffic.  Often, school parents park illegally on both sides of the street, narrowing Oak Avenue to only one passable lane.   When alerted to this issue, Principal David Ackerman's only advice to concerned neighbors was to "call the police."

The District faced similar problems on Vine Street.  To ensure the safety of that neighborhood, the District agreed to close any public school access from Vine Street and deny any public use of the Vine Street lot.  Vine Street neighbors were understandably concerned when the District considered opening the Vine Street lot for after hours and weekend use in the proposed Oak Knoll plans.  Facing neighborhood opposition, the District reversed those plans.

Now, the District knowingly is creating a Vine Street problem on Oak Avenue by opening school grounds to this narrow street, and then by providing open access on  evenings and
 weekends.  How can this be?

The District expects heavy community use of the new full-size soccer field and baseball diamond.  The new multi, situated on Oak Avenue, also will be the venue for evening volleyball and basketball practices.  The new nine-space parking lot will hardly accommodate the many drivers, leaving Oak Avenue as the overflow parking strip.  Oak Avenue stands to become an evening and weekend parking lot for school use.

Again, as a District parent and longtime resident of Oak Avenue, let me paint the picture.  Cars parked on Oak Avenue force the many pedestrians, cyclists, and automobiles traveling to and from Sand Hill Road and Stanford to share a single, narrow stretch of road.  When cars park illegally on both sides of the street, its width is further reduced to only one passable lane.  Visibility is reduced, and children exiting parked cars likely will run across Oak Avenue mid-block  to reach school
 grounds through this new access point.

The approved Negative Declaration leaves these issues unaddressed, and certainly does not mitigate for this significant negative impact on traffic flow and pedestrian safety.

I have attached a photo that shows Oak Avenue with parked cars.  Despite lessons (apparently) learned from Vine Street, the District knowingly is creating an ongoing problem with the construction of this lot and the creation of new school access from Oak Avenue.

It is my great hope that the City of Menlo Park will not bow to the political pressure District administrators have promised to generate should any element of Oak Knoll renovation plans be denied.  I continue to ask the District to re-think this new access point from Oak Avenue.  It is not too late.  There are safer options, if the District and the Board truly are open to creative thinking.

I look forward to your response.

Nancy
 Andrus
Menlo Park