Good on 'ya, Council members. A wonderful Old-World concept that makes a city a village--cozy and welcoming.

Elsie Floriani

While I think that the concept of al fresco dining is a good one having enjoyed this in Europe, my only concern with dining along a busy street is that you are consuming exhaust fumes along with your meal. What considerations have been taken to address this?

"To convert the parking spaces into "parklets" that will be available to diners, the city will pay most of the cost to install platforms and concrete planter boxes around the perimeter of the platforms. Each would be disability-accessible...The city will have to pay the upfront construction costs, estimated to be $524,000 for all seven parklets."

Almost $75K each for a platform, some planters and a disability ramp!!!

Those must be some SWEEEEET concrete planter boxes.

while i love this idea it would seem that mini parks paid for by the city should be available for public use and not exclusively that of the restaurant. does the city council have a statement for that?

@David Petrovay:

It's no different than sitting at a sidewalk cafe in Paris or Palo Alto, San Francisco or Sao Paolo. You sit at an outdoor table in an urban setting and exhaust fumes, vehicle noise, police sirens, insects, birds, etc. are part of the experience.

Do the cars in Paris not emit exhaust? Yes, they certainly do and probably more than the vehicles here. California has particularly strict smog regulations, even our gasoline is formulated differently.

It's *YOUR* choice whether or not you want to sit outside, but if the restaurant windows are open, you're essentially breathing the same air.

Note that this is not a groundbreaking change. Many of the restaurants on the 100 block of Castro Street in Mountain View have also been allowed to convert street parking spaces into outdoor dining areas.

If you don't like it, don't sit there and don't expect the city to route traffic a hundred yards away. They don't in Paris or Palo Alto, they aren't going to do it in Menlo Park.

@David Petrovay: Just use the same gas mask you currently use every day to protect you from the dense smog, when shopping in Menlo Park :-)

Great to see the council members do something to make Menlo Park more desirable, despite the naysayers.

This is wonderful news as this program will have the most immediate POSITIVE impact on the vitality of our Downtown.

However, I am disappointed that no real cafe is participating; we need welcoming places that attract and serve residents during the entire day and in the evening, not just at lunch and dinner.

We need a Cafe Baronne-type cafe Downtown and perhaps a pub; not more restaurants with limited hours.

How about creating a small parklet on Curtis between Santa Cruz and the south-side parking lots so all visitors can sit, enjoy a cup of coffee, read, people watch etc. Add some seats, benches, tables and a few "potted" trees, and flowers.

That said, this program is a great start.

Thanks, MP.C.C.

As I drive around and around Menlo Park looking for a parking space, I will be sure to admire the parklets.

Oh, puleasssse! There never are any on Santa Cruz Avenue anyway. But there are always spots behind the various places of business. Be patient! Enjoy the search! Besides, the walk will do you good. How about a little positivity, Mr. (or Mrs.) Cranky Pants. :-) C'mom. Be of good cheer.
Elsie

I drive to Downtown Menlo Park at least 5to 7 times a week during the day and it's NEVER taken more than 5 minutes to find a parking space within 2 blocks of my destination, and it usually takes less than 2 min. So from my perspective our existing free parking is adequate.

If that is too inconvenient then I recommend complainers take 10 to 15 minutes to drive and park somewhere else.
Some people complain about our weather and can never be satisfied with any changes. I do wonder sometimes why they have not found a more agreeable place to live.

I agree with Dana

Never had to spend more than 5 minutes looking for parking downtown. So the parking complainers can just stop.

I do think that these parks should be open to the public and not just restaurant patrons. We are paying for it after all.

If this were truly authentic to Paris street cafes expect special (I mean higher) menu prices outdoors.

I'm a big fan of outdoor dining areas and I think this could be a nice improvement. But this should be revenue for the city. The article mentions isn't clear on the terms of these agreements. Are the restaurants getting the space rent free?

Elsie, did you ever pause to think that not everyone is as physically able as you. Sarcasm about walking a 'mere' block or two may resonate with you and your ilk, but for me, it serves to emphasize the current negativity toward the disabled and less-abled. I have to shop quite frequently at Walgreens and do find that parking close to that store is often unavailable, due, not only to the loss of 2.5 parking spaces (i.e.3), but to the long term parking for restaurant diners, who might indeed benefit from parking at a distance and walking off their meals. Apart from Walgreens, I'm increasingly taking my shopping to the Mall. Now, I suppose I should take purchasing prescriptions and other sundries to CVS.

One can always take Uber if the parking really annoys you...

Roy

Kris:

there's always the Safeway pharmacy. Plenty of parking and great disabled access.

Sure, Uber is great if you have the income that Roy and other high-tech high-riders have. As for Safeway, why should I be forced out of Walgreens where they know me and are personable and helpful just so that diners can eat curbside. I'm really hoping for a cold, very wet winter. Heaven forbid that you spare a thought for others. Your turn will come; you don't know what the future has in store for you, be it an auto accident or unexpected illness. Over and out; you're not worth talking to.

I do almost all of my shopping on Santa Cruz plus Draeger's and Trader Joe's and I cannot remember once that I was not able to find a parking spot within the same block that I was shopping in.

Kris:

you sound bitter. I was offering a viable alternative. Sorry you didn't take it that way. And sorry for whatever disability has befallen you.

I would also suggest we do away with the parking ticket people. I actually got a ticket recently for parking on one of the white lines on the space. There was tons of parking in the lot too. The parking stripes are nearly impossible to hit correctly and I see most cars cannot park evenly within the lines as they are striped now. I never see any full lots lately, why are we ticketing people and making them mad so they don't want to come to Menlo Park? I think this is something the City Council should review, make the free parking all year now.

Anything is better than nothing. Menlo Park is a running joke among our neighbors. Palo Alto is super hip and vibrant, Redwood City is much more preferable to visit, even San Carlos has a better choice of Restaurants! All we've got are a few lousy pizza places on ECR and some memorable mildewing awnings.

Let's do everything we can to make Menlo Park a destination and quit this nit-picking!

I like the idea of the "parklets" but...
1. Will the restaurants pay rent for the public area that they use as a means to reimburse taxpayers for the startup costs of the parklets since the restaurants potentially are expanding BOTH their businesses and profit margins at the cost to taxpayers ("The city will have to pay the upfront construction costs, estimated to be $524,000 for all seven parklets.")?
2. If not, how does this differ from other corporate entitlement/welfare programs?
3. Trellis also has "rooftop outdoor dining experience" except they have to pay rent for it.
4. Will the City pay for a "parklet" for me so I can sell something - like maybe a lemonade stand - while minimizing my overhead costs by unloading (uploading?) it to City taxpayers? I promise to keep it clean too. :-)
4. Is this unfair competition for other restaurants in Menlo Park? Will they get taxpayer parklets too?
5. Why does a furniture store need a parklet for restaurants?
6. Is taxpayer money helping to fund the new up-coming roof top dining experience at the British Banker's Club given it is included in the article about parklets?
Just saying....

It sounds to me both the business and the city are putting up the money to make this happen. The goal is that both will benefit. The restaurant will have room for more customers. The city will get more sales and property tax revenue. The city's long term goal is a vibrant downtown that will bring more patrons and their spending.

It's typical for cities to invest in infrastructure to make their downtown areas more appealing for businesses to expand and patrons to visit. This particular infrastructure more directly helps the adjoining business, but that's why the business also needs to pony up too.

Folks complaining about the use of public dollars on this project need to consider the City could have just widened the sidewalks downtown. But the City would have paid the entire bill for that project. However resident polling indicated residents wanted improved vibrancy and dining downtown. So the City, in a public private partnership,convinced the businesses to pay for 30% of the project, adding aesthetics, heating and lighting.

Sounds like a great deal for residents and the City to me.