Posted by Car 54 Where Are You?, a resident of the Menlo Park: other neighborhood, on Nov 17, 2011 at 12:53 pm

Maybe if all the Menlo Park police weren't busy writing tickets for overtime parking downtown, they could patrol the neighborhoods and stop the rising rates of theft, break-ins, etc.

Posted by Jim Ozark, a resident of the Menlo Park: South of Seminary/Vintage Oaks neighborhood, on Nov 17, 2011 at 3:14 pm

The police are much too busy at Felton Gables ensuring that parents can't park outside the dear resident's houses, while they drop their kids off at school. They don't have time to patrol other neighborhoods.

Does this bias towards Felton Gables residents surprise anyone else? Is there somebody in there who has an inappropriate level of influence on where the police spend their time and the city focusses their energy?

In my opinion if you buy a house beside a school, you should expect to have traffic from the school. If you don't like, buy somewhere else! Ticketing for parking outside a house ( not blocking their driveway obviously) is obscene and should be changed,so the police can get back to their real job....to protect and serve.

Posted by concerned, a resident of the Menlo Park: Central Menlo Park neighborhood, on Nov 17, 2011 at 5:55 pm

Hopefully, when schools are in vacation session, police patrols will pick up ! Car 54 is correct, the residents need more protection and

less ticket writing ! How many tags can they write verses real crime issues. With the holidays coming, crime historically increases, so lets be prepared and head it off. Patrols need to do a pass through during school times, stop worrying about dumb traffic citations and

get to the real problems, like they were trained to do..They also need to re-educate residents on proper home protection, doors and windows have locks, use them !!!!

Posted by Hmmm, a resident of another community, on Nov 17, 2011 at 6:07 pm

Um, I think it's the Parking Nazis who ticket the cars in MP for parking OT, but it's the popo who pull people over for speeding, talking on their cells, texting while driving, blowing through stop signs.

But seriously, people can't park on the street in Felton Gables to then go get their kids at school? I want to do a drive by on this & check it out for myself, schedule permitting. What time & what's the best street?

As sorry as I am for the resident who was ripped off, they made it very easy for the thief. Lock your doors - these are holidays in a down economy w/gold prices high!

Posted by Kathy., a resident of the Menlo Park: Suburban Park/Lorelei Manor/Flood Park Triangle neighborhood, on Nov 17, 2011 at 10:04 pm

I'm glad someone mentioned the Felton Gables issue.

To the person above asking when the police are ticketing in Felton Gables, preventing Mums and Dads from walking their kids the last block to school, go any morning, Monday to Friday. 3 or 4 days every week there's police on Tudor Drive or Lennox Avenue ensuring nobody parks outside their oh so precious houses.

The school has no more room for parking, so the staff and maybe 5 parents (in a school of 500+ students) get to park in the allocated spots.

Meanwhile chaos ensues on the Encinal/Middlefield intersection, or coming out of the school on to Encinal Ave. but somehow we can't get a traffic cop to help out there, because he's too busy giving tickets in Felton Gables. There's something seriously corrupt going on there.

Posted by R.Gordon, a resident of another community, on Nov 18, 2011 at 6:48 am

All jewelry in that area is "antique". Did the Historical Society get a look at it or record it?

Posted by Facts please, a resident of the Menlo Park: Felton Gables neighborhood, on Nov 18, 2011 at 8:27 am

A joint MP/Atheron Safe Routes to School initiative a few years ago determined that Felton Gables' narrow streets and lack of sidewalks, coupled with hurried parents not wanting to wait on the carpool line, created unsafe conditions for K-5 children to walk or bike to school. (The school also created too few parking spots for a school of its size.) Signs limiting parking during drop off and pick up hours were designed to keep kids safe, not to avoid blocked driveways. If the police have stepped up patrols, it is likely because enforcement dropped and people started ignoring the signs, recreating the unsafe conditions that prompted them in the first place. No one want to see a child hit by a car. If that takes an officer spending a half hour in Felton Gables a couple times a week during drop-off/pick-up, that is a wise allocation of time.

Posted by Hmmm, a resident of another community, on Nov 18, 2011 at 10:47 am

Thanks for explaining, Facts please. I have family members attending Encinal & knew the pick up issue was a problem, but I didn't understand the details. It sounds like perhaps many don't know the real issue behind the not parking.

I played in Felton Gables all the time growing up, as a lot of my friends lived there, but I don't recall a particular snooty rep in those days.