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Menlo briefs: Commissioner resigns from traffic subcommittee

by Sandy Brundage

Transportation Commissioner Penelope Huang, saying that personal attacks were distracting from a review of Menlo Park's neighborhood traffic-management program, resigned from the review subcommittee on March 15.

Ms. Huang came under fire during the past few months from some residents who questioned her intentions in calling for a review of a program that, in their minds, doesn't need changing.

The program allows a resident to request traffic-calming measures for their neighborhood, but requires signatures from at least 60 percent of their neighbors before staff will study the issue. Installing a mitigation measure such as a speed bump on a trial basis after a study then requires 51 percent approval of a surveyed group of residents, with non-responses counting as a "no" vote.

According to Ms. Huang, the process needs to be revisited in light of upcoming development projects, such as Facebook's expansion to a second campus and the proposed Stanford-Arrillaga mixed-use complex on El Camino Real

Environmental awards

Five community members earned awards from the Menlo Park Environmental Quality Commission this year. The winners are: Facebook (Climate Action); Menlo Business Park (Climate Action); Carolyn Dorsh (Environmental Education); Pacific Biosciences (Resource Conservation); and Hillview Middle School-Menlo Park City School District (Sustainable Building).