Songs and hand-holding fete new Ivy Drive plaza Songs and hand-holding fete new Ivy Drive plaza (March 23, 2005)

"We're happy you're here today," a group of children from the Belle Haven Child Development Center sang on March 16. They certainly had company.

Menlo Park city officials, residents and students filled the new plaza spanning the area between the child-care center and Belle Haven's elementary school and library across Ivy Drive in a celebration to dedicate the space. The plaza blocks off Ivy Drive, keeping cars from driving through, and making life safer for kids running back and forth, city officials said.

"We're joining the two schools together," Mayor Mickie Winkler said. "This looks like a little college campus."

The plaza's brick posts have tiles painted in bright colors by Belle Haven Elementary students, featuring designs of stars and furry animals. The city also plans to put up a bulletin board where residents can post notices and event information.

The project cost $1.9 million and also includes new landscaping.

To close the ceremony, the crowd made a symbolic connection between the two sides of Ivy Drive: everyone joined hands to create a long human line bridging what was once a divide.

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