This page focuses on the community concerns pertaining to traffic along Bay Road and parking in general. The current (2022) Realized Re-Imagine plan identifies that about 369± parking spots will exist in the park. County Parks is considering slight modification to back parking that will allow 2 way traffic and a few more spaces. Parking fees at the park have been eliminated.
Local neighbors are very familiar with traffic issues. During the spring-summer months of the year, there has been a substantial increase in park traffic at the very time the daily commute occurs, causing backups and long strings of cars along Bay, Marsh, and Ringwood. This makes travel to/from Bay Rd destinations very difficult. Additionally, weekend use is significant, often with ingress/egress conflicts resulting in congestion.
Parking is also a concern. The Final Project Plan (EIR) states there will be 369 parking spaces with county estimating an average of 3 people per car. At max, that would be over 1,100 people in the park just from cars. These numbers don’t seem to be based in any factual analysis, as prior EIRs were using 2 persons per car. Even earlier County studies show that the park often exceeds capacity on weekends between June and October *.
Some related issues and concerns:
- Congestion issues when parking is over 50% utilized
- No accommodation for buses or para-transit vehicles – no staging within park, no bus parking, limited bus turn-around
- Impact on cyclist safety both on Bay Rd and within the Park’s parking lot
- Data used for estimates – seem to lack actual real world usage facts — Need source data that is real
- Limited turn around area – requires traversing the main length of the parking area just to turn and exit
- Concern about drop off locations along Bay Rd, at Iris Lane, and in neighborhoods
- Noise – Both along Bay Rd and within the Park is a local concern shared by all adjacent neighborhoods
Park Hours
County Parks has posted that the park is open on the following schedule:
- 8 am – 8 pm from April 1st to Sept. 4th
- November 6:00 P.M. (before Daylight Saving Time ends)
- November 5:00 P.M. (after Daylight Saving Time ends)
Reference – FAQ
The following FAQ section pertains to concerns, issues, and other comments related to Traffic and Parking at and around Flood Park.
Traffic
Parking fees are no longer charged for Flood park. This may have the positive effect of quicker entry into the park and reduce the queue length of cars entering.
The County does not address the traffic noise issues, stating in the Reimagine EIR that “traffic noise would remain a significant and unavoidable impact.” The EIR also states that more cars are expected on weekends than in recent past.
Neighbors in the area have asked how cycling safety can be improved. County did not address cycling safety in regards to heavy park traffic.
County does not seem to have plans for public transit and it is doubtful that buses would be able to safely use the current Flood Park parking areas for access and turn around.
Currently, SAMTrans does not have a bus route for the park. Waiting to hear from County if a route, especially that services the NFO, Belle Haven, and East Palo Alto neighborhoods will include the park, especially with more frequent trips for weekends and the 4-6pm weekday times used by school sport teams.
Waiting on response from County.
Parking capacity and traffic are acknowledged as a potential problem in the Reimagine EIR, yet it does not appear that the parking area can safely accommodate busses and similar transport vehicles in the parking area.
Currently there is not an affective public transportation service for NFO, Belle Haven, or East Palo Alto residents to/from the park. With the new all access playgrounds, it seems there is a need to support transit systems like Redi-Wheels and other similar transport for those with disabilities. These over large vehicles and buses should have a stop in the drop off area AND there will need to be a place for these vehicles to park.
Ways to Take Action and Help
If you have input or experience with difficulties accessing the park, please use the comment form below to provide us feedback.
Other ways to help:
- Let others know of this website so they can come up to speed on what is happening
- Stay in touch – be notified when public meetings on the Reimagine plan are occurring
- Sign up for County updates on the County’s Reimagine Project page — Here
- Provide your feedback, ideas, questions, and concerns using the comment form below
- We plan on doing online surveys here — please participate in those as they appear
The less trees you cut down…the better! I always thought of the Parks Dept as a protector of the restful beauty of our parks. Sadly, you appear not to be. Parks are for everyone–not just the youth. We may want different things from our parks. I think we can all have what we enjoy about our parks–if you are willing to listen to everyone and revise your plans. KEEP the 22 trees in the heart of the woodland area.