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By Paul Bendix

About this blog: A 32-year resident of Menlo Park, I regularly make my way around downtown in a wheelchair. This gives me an unusual perspective on a town in which I have spent almost half of my life. I was educated at UC Berkeley, and permanentl... (More)

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Stop Menlo Harbor Project

Uploaded: Apr 1, 2014

The 'Menlo Harbor' development plan currently being floated (forgive the pun) by a major investment group simply isn't right for this area. Unfortunately, there's already a lot of momentum behind the project which would dramatically deepen and widen San Francisquito Creek to accommodate oceangoing ships. The plan calls for excavating a 'Menlo Harbor' deep water port well inland from the bay, actually near Sand Hill Road and El Camino.

While the affluence of the mid-Peninsula may attract investors to the development, local residents are bound to oppose it. There's no reason why maritime shipping needs to dock near Stanford Shopping Center. The flashy stores, restaurants and hotels around the proposed Menlo Harbor area should be built elsewhere. The bayfront is a logical location for such a massive project, and with environmental mitigation, it could well work.

The Dubai group behind Menlo Harbor also assigns far too much of infrastructure costs to local taxpayers. The worst example is the El Camino bridge, a mammoth structure high enough for the superstructures of passing ships. The site may actually require a drawbridge, and the cost is unthinkable. As for traffic, the impact is obvious and predictable – bumper-to-bumper tieups along El Camino.

Keep alert for news of this development. And definitely plan to oppose it.

Comments

Posted by In support, a resident of Menlo Park: The Willows,
on Apr 1, 2014 at 10:57 am

Sounds like this might be the right solution for the flood risks of the creek. It might require the destruction of my house, but there are plenty of affordable houses in the area and it would be easy for me to move. I don't see why you're so critical of the plan.

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Posted by Stu Soffer, a resident of Menlo Park: Linfield Oaks,
on Apr 1, 2014 at 11:31 am
Stu Soffer is a registered user.

A long overdue innovation.

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Posted by peninsula resident, a resident of Menlo-Atherton High School,
on Apr 1, 2014 at 12:07 pm

Not only would this address flood risks, the Caltrain train tracks are right there and with plans to increase the number of rail tracks from 2 to 6, it's the perfect location offload goods.

The Port of Oakland is in a lot of trouble.

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Posted by 100% bicycle commuter, a resident of another community,
on Apr 1, 2014 at 1:32 pm

Sand Hill Road is already appropriately named for the beach that will border parts of the new Menlo Harbor. I'm looking forward to putting oversized tires on my bicycle and pedaling through the water on my work commute. We should in no way be Dubai-ous of this proposal.

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Posted by Alan, a resident of Menlo Park: Belle Haven,
on Apr 1, 2014 at 1:38 pm

I'm all for Menlo Harbor; it needs to accommodate cruise ships. I think Sand Hill Road is the ideal location, so I can grab a bite to eat at Chipotle's before heading down the coast to Baja.

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Posted by Louise68, a resident of Menlo Park: other,
on Apr 1, 2014 at 2:33 pm

I cannot believe there is any support for this stupid, expensive project, which will only make those silly guys in Dubai even richer than they are now. Are all of you who claim you like this project posting your remarks as April Fools Day jests? I hope so! Surely you must have some idea how huge modern cruise ships are -- they are floating cities, and would need much more depth than ever could be accommodated in our beautiful San Francisquito Creek without destroying it.

I simply cannot believe anyone is serious about this project. IF this is an April Fools Day joke, it is in very poor taste. Please remember -- here on the computer, all we have to go on here is text on a screen --- no tone of voice, no body language -- no other clues to help us tell a serious post from a joke. (That is what emoticons are for -- as well as typing "j/k" if something is a joke.)

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Posted by Oil Man, a resident of Menlo Park: Allied Arts/Stanford Park,
on Apr 1, 2014 at 3:10 pm

I think they should build a oil depot/refinery where Allied Arts Guild and surrounding neighborhood are located. Any canal that can handle cruise ships can handle tankers. That odor coming from the smokestacks? That's the sweet smell of cash-paying jobs.

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Posted by Old MP, a resident of Menlo Park: Central Menlo Park,
on Apr 1, 2014 at 5:16 pm

@ Louise68: Today's date is? Think about it and get back to me.

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Posted by Paul Bendix, a resident of Menlo Park: Downtown,
on Apr 1, 2014 at 10:20 pm

Gentle Readers,

On this April Fools' Day, thanks for entering into the spirit.

When I first arrived on these mid-Peninsula shores, 33 years ago, such humor would have met with incomprehension. No longer is ours an irony-free zone. Thank you all.

? Paul

PS: Of course, in the UK it's always been a different matter. This from
BBC Panorama, 1 April 1957:

Web Link

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Posted by neighbor, a resident of another community,
on Apr 2, 2014 at 8:39 pm

Usually April Fools jokes end with a footnote saying something like "HAHAHA Happy April Fools Day!" And usually don't continue to run them after April 1st. Time's up.

There's enough fake news around here already.

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Posted by Louise68, a resident of Menlo Park: other,
on Apr 2, 2014 at 9:45 pm

"Old MP" -- and Paul --
Yes, I noticed the April 1 date, but -- I have been absolutely disgusted by many of the things the 1% have done to this poor suffering planet and its people. The greed and cruelty of too many of the 1% seem to be endless. That is why I took this blog so seriously. This sort of project is just exactly what some super-wealthy folks do all the time. "T'aint funny, McGee!" as a friend used to say.

neighbor --
Thank you very much for pointing out how hard it is to tell truth from a joke or falsehood on the web, and no, we do not need more phony "news". Yes, April 1 is over, and this blog should be taken down. It wasn't even funny at all in the first place.

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Posted by Alan, a resident of Menlo Park: Belle Haven,
on Apr 3, 2014 at 5:26 pm

It was a good joke, Paul. :)

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Posted by HIlarious!, a resident of Woodside: other,
on Apr 8, 2014 at 9:30 am

Thanks for the laugh, Paul! Loved (most of) the comments, too!

Sorry I missed it on April 1!

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