To Keep Enrollment, Menlo Asks Community to Reduce Traffic

by GEOFFREY FRANC

The long lines of traffic that define Valparaiso Avenue each school morning are not only a headache for drivers and residents, but they also have legal implications for Menlo. To reduce traffic, the school has called on the community to cut the number of trips made to school by 15%. The administration also continues to highlight the consequence of reduced enrollment if the school cannot meet its traffic goals.

According to Menlo’s Chief Financial Officer Bill Silver, Menlo agreed to traffic limits in a 2011 agreement with the Town of Atherton that allowed the school to increase its enrollment from 750 to 795. Under these terms, Menlo’s gates cannot be crossed more than 627 times between the peak hours of 7 a.m. and 9 a.m., or 453 times between the peak hours of 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. According to Director of Sustainability Chrissy Orangio, the school does not have trouble meeting the afternoon traffic limits. “Usually we hit our afternoon numbers because so many students do sports,” Orangio said. “The