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Uploaded: Wednesday, October 7, 2009, 9:01 AM

Menlo Park council approves El Camino project  

by Sean Howell
Almanac Staff

Posted by aThErTonIAn, a resident of Menlo Park, on Oct 7, 2009 at 11:06 am

Way to go council...you made a decision... and without hiring a special committee ... way to go. Keep up the good work

Posted by Anon., a resident of the Crescent Park neighborhood, on Oct 7, 2009 at 11:42 am

Multi-family housing right beside the train tracks? I never quite got this concept after I once lived for a short while in the Park Plaza apartments by Rengstorf Park in Mountain View where every night it sounded like a train was running me over in my sleep. What a stupid idea.

Posted by Frank, a resident of the Ventura neighborhood, on Oct 7, 2009 at 2:02 pm

I lived on Alma street across from the train - in a good building it's hardly noticeable.

If we do not build housing in proportion to our needs our Teachers, Police, Liberians and out own children will not be able to live here. Clearly the housing prices reflect the desperate housing shortage even while housing prices are dropping dramatically else where they are very high and stable here.

Posted by Sro, a resident of Menlo Park, on Oct 7, 2009 at 2:44 pm

I agree that more housing is hardly what we need to increase the traffic already present on El Camino going through downtown Menlo Park.

Posted by Irvin, a resident of the University South neighborhood, on Oct 7, 2009 at 4:13 pm

Responding to prior commenters:

Anon.,wrote: " Multi-family housing right beside the train tracks? I never quite got this concept after I once lived for a short while in the Park Plaza apartments by Rengstorf Park in Mountain View where every night it sounded like a train was running me over in my sleep. What a stupid idea."

Anon: there's a fairly new condo-retail mixed use project right opposite the station - those condos must be selling about a million$ a piece right now....doesn't sound stupid to those buying them!

Posted by Frank:

"I lived on Alma street across from the train - in a good building it's hardly noticeable.

If we do not build housing in proportion to our needs our Teachers, Police, Liberians and out own children will not be able to live here. Clearly the housing prices reflect the desperate housing shortage even while housing prices are dropping dramatically else where they are very high and stable here."

Frank - I live in Alma Place Apts (753 Alma), opposite the tracks. My apt faces High Street, but I spend a lot of time in our community room, overlooking Alma and the tracks - where I am right now. The noise from the Alma St. traffic is constant, while the train noise is very short and infrequent. Motorcycles are the most annoying...

Posted by Sro, a resident of Menlo Park, 1 hour ago

"I agree that more housing is hardly what we need to increase the traffic already present on El Camino going through downtown Menlo Park."

Sro, ever heard of the term, "We are traffic"? It's similar to the cartoon with a guy yelling out of his car complaining about "all the traffic". Putting more housing along ECR by the train station - walkable to Santa Cruz business district ...compare the vehicle trips generated from that site compared to other sites with no services or public transit accessible by foot..

Posted by Anon., a resident of the Crescent Park neighborhood, on Oct 8, 2009 at 10:30 am

You people who claim that the Palo Alto teachers and firemen can afford million dollar houses are interesting.

It is really not true that you can build a good enough building to shield it totally from the train. Maybe that is what a seller wants you to believe, or a builder, but in the middle of a deep sleep in an otherwise quiet bedroom you can hear the sound and feel the vibration.

Then there is also the fact that if you want to avoid the train sounds you cannot keep a window open, and you get recirculated odors and toxics.

Think about it, they find out every year how important sleep is for human beings and what people react to that they do not even realize while they are asleep.