City to look into problem of parking at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church
Sunday may be considered by many to be a day of rest, but for Eveleen Lopez the seventh day has been anything but restful.
Lopez and at least two dozen other Menlo Park residents say their narrow streets near downtown have become a busy parking lot for some of the thousands of parishioners who attend weekend services at nearby Menlo Park Presbyterian Church.
"I hate Saturday and Sunday," said Lopez, a 35-year resident of Menlo Park who lives on Johnson Street across from the church. "The last three years have been terrible . . . there's an awful lot of angry people."
Almost two-thirds of the estimated 36 residents living on three streets, including Ross and Millie avenues, where the parking problem is concentrated recently signed a petition asking the city for some relief.
"It's clear in the minds of some residents there's a problem," said Don Dey, city transportation manager.
In response, the City Council last month directed the city's Transportation Commission to study the issue. Commissioners Sue Basso and Orv Miller have been appointed to a subcommittee to meet with residents and church officials to identify what problems exist and devise possible solutions.
"We are aware that we create an impact," said Gary Hagin, chief business officer for the church. "We are trying to do what we reasonably can to address the concerns of our neighbors."
But one proposed remedy to restrict parking along a stretch of Johnson Avenue near Santa Cruz Avenue met with disapproval from several residents who said they'd lose parking outside their homes.
Dey said the task of finding solutions to the problem has been complicated by the mishmash of parking regulations in the area that restricts parking on some parts of the streets and allows it on others.
"It's a dangerous situation," said Lopez, who worries that emergency vehicles could have trouble navigating the streets in the event of a fire or medical problem. "It's not a wide street, getting in and out is terribly hard."
Lopez said the problem has grown worse in the past three years since the church added two services on Saturday evening, in addition to its three services on Sunday morning which each attract congregations of up to 1,000 people. The church parking lot holds an estimated 125 cars.
"They've got to do something," Lopez said of the church. "It's really a bad situation."
Hagin said the church has attempted to notify its parishioners not to park on nearby streets and to use the city's downtown parking plazas.
"We don't catch everyone," he said, but "we're continuing the dialogue."
--Rufus Jeffris
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