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Photo by Michelle Le/The Almanac
City and school officials want to install a traffic signal at the intersection of Santa Cruz and Elder avenues.
City wants to stop traffic at Santa Cruz and Elder avenues ■ $291,000 in traffic signal changes coming to intersection near school. By Sandy Brundage Almanac Staff Writer
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he Menlo Park City School District and the city will each chip in $120,000 to add a new traffic light at the intersection of Santa Cruz Avenue and Elder Avenue, and take away a pedestrian signal in front of Hillview Middle School at that intersection. The lighted, in-pavement pedestrian signal will shift to the corner of Santa Cruz Avenue and Olive Street.
The city will spend an additional $15,000 for staff time and $35,000 to create a right-hand turn lane from Elder Avenue to Santa Cruz Avenue. First things first, though. At the request of the City Council at its Feb. 15 meeting, Menlo Park will also spend $1,000 to create a “keep clear” zone in front of Atkinson Lane, a residential street that intersects Santa Cruz Avenue about a block from the school. During the meeting, three
Atkinson Lane residents expressed concern about traffic problems worsening if the city installs the traffic signal, saying it’s already hard to pull in and out of their driveways. “I do know that if we want to get into our driveway on Atkinson we’re stopping all the traffic behind us and we can’t go, because the cars are in front of our street,” Anny Levin told the council. “Traffic is much more dangerous at that particular intersection than where it is now (on Seymour Lane).” The residents asked the city to postpone the changes until
Sports field serves as memorial to officer FIELD continued from page 5
The proposed playing field is not without its critics. Council members split 3 to 2 in favor of granting a building permit, and former mayor Sharifa Wilson has said the council is not following proper protocol because it has not conducted an environmental study of the potential impacts of the field. Councilman A. Peter Evans, who voted against the permit, said he was against strangers coming into the city to build the field. Mr. May was an employee who did not have any allegiance to the city, Mr. Evans said at the meeting.
Councilman David Woods, who also voted against the permit, said he had the opposite view of Mr. May but felt the study of potential impacts should be done prior to granting the permit. Mayor Carlos Romero, Vice Mayor Laura Martinez and Councilman Ruben Abrica voted in favor of the permit. Tami McMillan, Mr. May’s sister and also a resident of Atherton, said the family was thrilled with the decision. “I think this will be a great thing and a sense of pride for young athletes of every sport in East Palo Alto. I can’t even be more ecstatic than I am,” she said.
Ms. Wilson, who is president of the Ravenswood City School District board, said Thursday that she wanted to be clear that her opposition had nothing to do with her connection with Ravenswood, past or present. But she was speaking in her capacity as a homeowner who lives a half block from the field site. “I’m disappointed the council did not make its priority safety and concern for the quality of life of residents,” she said. The project is bigger than she expected and goes beyond the scope of just the kids, she said. “Everyone could accept a soccer field for the kids — I was not
it knows whether there truly is a problem with the current arrangement. Data provided by the Menlo Park police department shows five accidents occurred at intersections around Hillview Middle School during the past two years. Three happened at the juncture of Santa Cruz Avenue and Olive Street, while Elder Avenue and Atkinson Lane had one each where those streets joined Santa Cruz Avenue. Engineering services manager Chip Taylor told the council existing traffic issues would already benefit, and that waiting could make the problems worse. “The
against a soccer field. But now it’s much, much larger. Kids could bike and walk to a soccer field, but an adult rugby field has other impacts,” she said. “Whenever there’s a project, (the council) is obligated to do a negative declaration to evaluate if there is a need for an Environmental Impact Report (EIR). They did absolutely nothing. “They decided it’s already an existing use. But my contention is it never had 60-foot lights or was open until 9:30. Those things would trigger the need for an EIR,” she said. In the past, Ms. Wilson has threatened lawsuits if a study was not done. On Thursday she said she is giving herself time to reflect.
student population is going to slowly increase over the next four to five years,” he said. “It takes time to get a signal in place, so if you wait until you see the problem, it could be six to eight months before you can get the signal installed.” The school district would like to see the changes made sooner rather than later since it plans to use bond money to pay for its half of the costs, Mr. Taylor said, and hopes to have construction start by May 2012. The council unanimously approved the changes, as well as creating a “keep clear” zone as soon as possible. A
Ms. McMillan said field proponents don’t want to do anything that would upset residents. Getting the permit was key to getting donations, some of which can be used to fund the study. “That’s been the tightrope all along,” she said. The impact study would be done prior to any groundbreaking, she said. When the council voted affirmatively, Ms. McMillan said the contentiousness of the meeting disappeared. “I was almost numb. I thought I would be mad at Evans. But when I saw how many youth came out and how many speakers were in favor of the field, I thought, ‘Let’s just move forward and make this happen.’” A
February 23, 2011 N The Almanac N 9