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Menlo Briefs: City extends downtown holiday parking hours

Menlo Park police want to help Santa make his way to your house, so they will loosen up on parking enforcement from Dec. 5 through Jan. 3.

For all downtown plazas except Plaza 4, located between Draeger's Market and Peet's Coffee on University Drive, the time limit will be extended from two to three hours. Plaza 4 keeps its two-hour limit.

Pay-by-space parking meters are also operational in Plaza 1 (off Oak Grove Avenue near El Camino Real) and Plaza 5 (off Crane and Evelyn streets between Santa Cruz and Menlo avenues). The first two hours of parking are free, then the third hour costs $1; the fourth, $1.50, with additional time costing $2 per hour. Drivers can add time by credit card or cell phone.

Council takes two weeks off

As the holiday season kicks into high gear, the Menlo Park City Council is taking a couple weeks off to prepare (and possibly recuperate). The council meetings for Nov. 22 and Nov. 29 have been canceled.

The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 6. At 5 p.m. the council will meet in closed session to review city manager applications, then during the regular meeting that starts at 7 p.m., will select a new mayor and vice mayor.

Kirsten Keith and Peter Ohtaki, as the newest members of the council, are first in line for those positions, since city policy dictates that those who have yet to hold the offices have priority.

Ideas for greenhouse gas reduction?

Got a vision for a greener Menlo Park? The city has posted a survey online to solicit ideas on what the criteria should be for adopting a greenhouse gas reduction target.

Go to tinyurl.com/GreenMP to complete the survey. Responses are due by Wednesday, Nov. 30.