Weekly Digest for Feb. 7, 2022   

This week's features

• Police release annual crime statistics and complaint data 
• Independent Redistricting Commission to hold second public hearing
• Menlo Park downtown market study released
• Section of U.S. Highway 101 express lanes opening Feb. 11
• City to remove temporary posts on Newbridge Street
• New local drive-thru COVID-19 community testing site available 
• County offers grants for 4Rs and zero waste projects

Upcoming public meetings and events

• Monday, Feb. 7, 6:30 p.m.
  Melanated Reads: Children of Blood and Bone, by Tomi Adeyemi
• Tuesday, Feb. 8, 6 p.m.
  City Council meeting
• Tuesday, Feb. 8, 7:15 p.m.
  Book Discussion: Go, Went, Gone
• Wednesday, Feb. 9, 7 p.m.
  Complete Streets Commission meeting
• Thursday, Feb. 10, 4:30 p.m.
  Get Organized without Losing It!
• Thursday, Feb. 10, 6 p.m.
  Independent Redistricting Commission meeting
• Thursday, Feb. 10, 6:30 p.m.
  A Wartime Journey
• Saturday, Feb. 12, 10 a.m.
  Housing Element Update Community Meeting - Goals and Policies
• View all events
  City calendar

Police release annual crime statistics and complaint data 

In 2021, the Police Department responded to over 20,000 calls for service, conducted over 3,550 traffic stops, over 870 pedestrian and bicycle stops, wrote over 2,200 reports and arrested 560 individuals. The resulting 2021 crime statistics showed a slight decrease in reported violent crime (homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault); 43 incidents in 2021 and 47 reported in 2020. There were no reported homicides in both 2020 and 2021. Property crimes (burglary, larceny, auto theft and arson) in 2021 decreased by…Click to continue

Independent Redistricting Commission to hold second public hearing

The Independent Redistricting Commission requests public input from the community. Let us know how you think your City Council districts should look! Like many cities around the country, Menlo Park is governed by a City Council with elected members, where each city councilmember represents a district of approximately the same number of constituents. The Independent Redistricting Commission is tasked with examining communities of interest within city boundaries over the past 10 years and redrawing our districts to…Click to continue

Menlo Park downtown market study released

Economic development consultant, HdL ECONSolutions, recently submitted the Menlo Park Downtown Market Study. It is an informational item at the City Council’s Feb. 8, 2022, meeting agenda. A full presentation and opportunity for further public comment is being planned. The study’s goal was to analyze the downtown area and recommend steps to enhance it as a place to do business, visit, shop, dine and live. Two immediate actions items are proposed, 1) Expanding the Santa Cruz Avenue street café parklet program, adding...Click to continue

Section of U.S. Highway 101 express lanes opening Feb. 11

Caltrans will open the express lanes on U.S. Highway 101 from the San Mateo County/Santa Clara county line to Redwood City on Friday, Feb. 11, and from Redwood City to I-380 in late-2022. Existing carpool lanes between the San Mateo/Santa Clara County line and Whipple Avenue (blue solid line) are being converted to express lanes and new express lanes are being constructed between Whipple Avenue and I-380 (red stripped line). Express lanes are designed to move more people through the corridor while prioritizing carpools…Click to continue

City to remove temporary posts on Newbridge Street 

By late February/early March, the City expects to remove the existing temporary posts on Newbridge Street that have been in place since June 2020. At that time, temporary posts were installed at several key locations in the Belle Haven neighborhood as part of a trial phase for the Belle Haven Traffic Calming Plan. The posts were intended to provide additional pedestrian safety while slowing down turning vehicles and be replaced by permanent curb extensions if well received by neighborhood residents. Through a neighborhood wide…Click to continue

New local drive-thru COVID-19 community testing site available 

Avellino, one of California’s largest COVID-19 test providers, has opened a new drive-thru COVID-19 testing site at its company headquarters in Menlo Park, to support the need for greater testing access due to shortages of home tests and long testing lines elsewhere. The site uses the company’s AvellinoCoV2 PCR test, which is processed at the company’s high-capacity CLIA lab nearby and can run up to 30,000 tests per day. Its COVID-19 test has been shown to accurately detect all COVID-19 variants, including Omicron, as it focuses on...Click to continue

County offers grants for 4Rs and zero waste projects

The Office of Sustainability is offering funding assistance to government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and educational institutions (e.g., schools, school/college districts, state university systems, etc.) through the 4Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rot – Compost) Grants Program. The 4Rs Grants Program objective is to divert waste from being sent to the landfill by financially supporting eligible entities create and implement projects in San Mateo County that focus on the 4Rs – reduce, reuse, recycle, and rot. There are two tiers of funding…Click to continue

Never miss a city event or meeting! 

The City of Menlo Park is excited to offer the Simplicity app to help you stay informed and on top of city news and events! Download the app, select your favorite news/event categories, turn on push notifications and receive instant updates. Not interested in receiving push notifications? You can still view events/news across all city departments without having to search through the website or wait for an email.

Download on the App Store or get it on Google Play.