Bay Rd, Suburban Park / Lorelei Manor / Flood Park Triangle

Bay Road, in eastern Menlo Park, parallels route 101 and sees almost as many evolutions as its interstate counterpart. The road starts in the North Fair Oaks section of Menlo Park, an anomaly in and of itself in that it is a relatively poor section of one of the wealthiest towns in Silicon Valley. Working further east, the road goes into Flood Park Triangle, one of the nicer sections of town that also happens to be home to some of the medical facilities. True to form, the road ends in Belle Haven, which is an even rougher area than its genesis in North Fair Oaks.

Traffic will always be a bit congested on this road, given its proximity to the interstate, but it is not as bad as some of the neighboring streets. This is probably not a street that I would choose to live on, even in the nicer section, given how much of a main drag it is.

I definitely get a little bit of a feeling of driving through the ghetto when I pass through here. Cop cars are around often – I am not sure if that makes me feel safer or less safe. Traffic is a bit of a cluster@#*% around here, worsened by the neighboring University Avenue and proximity to the 101.

Like much of East Palo Alto, Bay Road is definitely getting cleaned up. The taqueria and McDonald’s offer some eating options, but it is the new condominium developments, intended for young Silicon Valley employees, that are giving the street, and the town, the much-necessary face lift. While Bay Street still has a long way to go, I think that the forward momentum and its Silicon Valley location are major steps in the right direction. This is definitely an investment street right now.