Project history
Due to increased congestion on Bayfront Expressway and Willow Road, the Belle Haven neighborhood was experiencing increased cut-through traffic. As part of its Campus Expansion project approvals, the project's transportation study found that Facebook could exacerbate cut-through traffic. Facebook was required to fund a neighborhood traffic calming plan for the Belle Haven neighborhood to reduce cut-through traffic as a mitigation measure required in the environmental impact report.
On May 25, 2017, the City hosted a community meeting at the Menlo Park Senior Center. The feedback from the community identified a need for action to relieve the neighborhood cut-through traffic in lieu of more public meetings to describe the issues. As a result, the City reached out to qualifying consultants and reached an agreement with Parisi Transportation Consulting. Parisi was selected by the City and funded by Facebook to provide expertise on the development and design of the Plan.
On August 20, 2019, the City Council approved the final revised plan, adopted a resolution to remove on-street parking for intersection bulbouts, and amended the standard implementation process.
The Plan included measures in three jurisdictions: the City of Menlo Park, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC), and Caltrans. Due to expected lengthy approval timelines from SFPUC and Caltrans, the City Council also approved staff’s recommendation to implement a trial implementation phase only for City jurisdiction measures and utilize its post-trial feedback for decisions related to permanent installation for both City, Caltrans and SFPUC jurisdiction measures.
After the Plan was approved, staff continued to work with the consultant to prepare design plans and started coordination with outside agencies. The design process was divided into two parallel tracks to speed implementation of the measures within the City jurisdiction:
- City jurisdiction: final design and implementation of trial measures
- SFPUC and Caltrans jurisdictions: schematic design for initial review
In June 2020, the installation of temporary traffic calming measures within City jurisdiction was completed. Additionally, schematic design plans were submitted to SFPUC and Caltrans in October 2020 for initial review.
Next steps
Prior to COVID-19, staff had intended to conduct post-trial analyses and a community meeting to evaluate and survey the temporary measures’ effectiveness, which would inform the decision for permanent installation. However, with many companies, schools, and other daily commuters continuing to work from home, roadway congestion has not yet returned to pre-COVID conditions. Therefore, collecting traffic data to compare to the “before” study at this time would not provide a clear picture of the efficacy of the trial measures.
Instead, staff will be making the following adjustments to the post-trial evaluation:
- Conduct a one-time community online and mail survey to solicit feedback on converting the implemented trial measures to permanent status
- Collect roadway and intersection traffic volumes at key neighborhood intersections to provide an overview of current patterns
Staff anticipates the survey will be distributed in late March/early April. Staff then will proceed with analyzing the survey results before taking a recommendation for potential permanent installation to the Complete Streets Commission currently targeted for June 2021 and then to the City Council currently targeted for August 2021 for approval before commencing construction by early 2022.
Upcoming meeting
Tuesday,
March 23, 2021 (continued from March 9, 2021)
5 p.m. |
City Council Meeting - receive project update
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Virtual meeting
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Past activities
September 10, 2019
7 p.m. |
City Council Meeting - adopted turn restrictions
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City Council Chambers
701 Laurel St. |
August 20, 2019
7 p.m. |
City Council Meeting - amend
the Plan and provide direction
on potential neighborhood turn restrictions
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City Council Chambers
701 Laurel St. |
April 27, 2019
11 a.m. |
Belle Haven Spring Fair - community outreach |
Ivy Plaza
410 Ivy Drive |
April 16, 2019
7 p.m. |
City Council Meeting - adopted Final Plan
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Menlo Park Senior Center Ballroom
110 Terminal Ave. |
December 12, 2018
7 p.m. |
Complete Streets Commission meeting - recommended draft plan to City Council
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City Council Chambers
701 Laurel St. |
July 11, 2018
7 p.m. |
Complete Streets Commission meeting - reviewed the draft plan
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Menlo Park Senior Center - Ballroom
110 Terminal Ave. |
October 17, 2017 |
City Council-approved scope of work
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City Council Chambers
701 Laurel St.
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May 25, 2017
6 p.m. |
Community Meeting #1
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Menlo Park Senior Center Ballroom
110 Terminal Ave. |