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Menlo Watch: Downtown parking on council agenda

Downtown parking is on the agenda when the Menlo Park City Council meets Aug. 31, and among the questions considered will be whether to shorten parking time limits from two hours to one hour along Santa Cruz Avenue, while adding 15-minute spots at the street's corners.

Under a plan to be discussed, forty-three spaces along Oak Grove Avenue, Menlo Avenue, El Camino Real, University Drive, and Santa Cruz Avenue near Fremont Park would get longer limits, changing from one hour to two hours.

Finally, parking plazas one, off El Camino Real, and five, off Santa Cruz Avenue, would provide two hours of free parking, then charge an hourly rate. The number of annual permits for plaza two, off Oak Grove Avenue, would be reduced from 47 to 24, and reallocated among the other plazas.

City staff estimates that implementing those changes will cost $55,000. The proposal is the result of a user survey and parking study commissioned by the city last year.

Details on the proposed changes are available on the city's website at www.menlopark.org Click on the Aug. 31 agenda to view the staff report.

Library closed over Labor Day weekend

Menlo Park's libraries will close during Labor Day weekend, from Sept. 4 through 6. The reduced hours are the result of service cuts made as part of the city's 2010-11 budget; the main library will close for a total of nine days during the year, generally following holidays.