Friends of Downtown Menlo Park,
Our City Council included the downtown parking lots in our 2023-2031 Housing Element - not because they had to, but because they wanted to. It’s part of a broader “vision” for our downtown – one where cars are no longer welcome.
At the City Council Priority Setting Workshop on March 22, there were some telling examples of this mindset:
1 – NO YOGA BECAUSE OF "PEOPLE WHO WANT TO PARK"
The main reason for the downtown vacancies is that the ground floor spaces on Santa Cruz Avenue are only allowed to have retail. For example, popular services like yoga studios are turned away. But in response to suggestions to loosen the city's zoning, Vice Mayor Betsy Nash said that the problem with yoga studios and gyms is that they result in "lots of people who generally will want to park". (Watch here.) It seems she’d prefer empty storefronts to a need for parking spaces.
Could it be that the neglect of our downtown businesses and rise in vacancies have had something to do with our Council’s longstanding desire to use the parking lots for housing?
2 - “HUGE FANS” OF ROAD CLOSURES
Late in the meeting, City staff announced that Left Bank and Bistro Vida will no longer be using the closed traffic lane, as their parklets provide adequate space for outdoor dining. (Watch here.) The only remaining use for the closure will be the community seating—mostly used by kids after school.
Mayor Combs suggested that the community seating be consolidated into the parking spaces in front of Walgreens, so that the traffic lane could be reopened without losing the community space. It was impossible to object to something so reasonable, and so Council agreed to make it an agenda item for later. However, the other council members were clearly disappointed that the road could now be re-opened. “I’m a huge fan of road closures,” said one, and they made it clear that they want to be able to re-close the road as part of the City’s upcoming “vibrancy project.”
Apparently putting housing in the parking lots is a vibrancy project, and closing Santa Cruz Avenue may be part of it.
3 – FROM “PARKING LOT” TO “BIKE RACK”
It is common practice in meetings to use term “Parking Lot” to represent a place to put topics that will be saved for later. But in our Council’s Priority Setting Meeting, people kept referring to putting items in the “Bike Rack.” It was confusing. But then Mayor Combs explained that “Bike Rack” was formerly “Parking Lot.” It turns out that a few years ago, our City leaders were so offended by the term “Parking Lot” that they adopted a policy of saying “Bike Rack” instead.
Maybe it was harmless change - but it reflects an attitude that is smugly indifferent to the needs of Menlo Park residents.
---
For years, while the people of Menlo Park were not paying attention, groups like Menlo Together, Housing Leadership Council, Peninsula for Everyone, and Yimby Law have been guiding our City government towards a downtown that’s unfriendly to anyone driving a car - which is pretty much everyone who uses our downtown. When we turn away cars, we turn away people. Businesses will close until all that’s left are a handful of establishments that can squeak by with drastically fewer customers. A business district with a wide range of offerings, serving a broader community, will become a thing of the past.
If that's not what we want, then the people of Menlo Park are going to have to step up and reclaim their city.
With concern,