Atherton has spent 2026 putting money into both ends of one short stretch of town. At one end is the library campus off Fair Oaks Lane. At the other is Holbrook-Palmer Park on Watkins Avenue. The library has a new garden. The park is getting a new playground and a different court layout. The Town has a capital project that treats the two as one place, and the town's own budget calls it the "Town Center & Library Circulation Project – Holbrook-Palmer Park Connection." What it still doesn't have is a way to walk between them on anything other than the road.
That gap explains most of what is happening along this route right now. The improvements are going in first. The path that would join them is still being studied.
Start at the Library's West Side
The Atherton Library sits at 2 Dinkelspiel Station Lane. It is open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday through Sunday. The biggest change here in 2026 is outdoors. On June 27, San Mateo County Libraries opened the Atherton Library Children's Garden, a 6,200-square-foot space on the library's west side under a grove of redwoods and oaks.
It has a willow hut, a tree house, a branch tunnel, a climbing boulder, hand-carved seating and an outdoor classroom connected to the library's makerspace. The design took its cue from the children's garden behind the old Atherton Library, so longtime library users may recognize the idea in its new spot. Miller Company Landscape Architects designed the $682,000 project and Selway Construction built it. Funding came from the San Mateo County Library Joint Powers Authority, plus a $10,000 donation from the Friends of the Atherton Library.
The garden matters to this route because it pulls families outdoors and toward the park side of the campus. Once a visit spills outside, the next stop is Holbrook-Palmer Park, at the other end of Dinkelspiel Station Lane.
The Lane in Between
According to the Town's September staff report, Dinkelspiel Station Lane "does not have a dedicated walkway or sidewalk between Maple Avenue and Watkins Avenue" linking the Town Center complex to Holbrook-Palmer Park. The same report lists what makes a walkway hard to fit, including tree removal, lost parking, utility relocation, and a possibly limited view of pedestrians at the Watkins crossing near the rail tracks. The City Manager's recap also points to a constrained right-of-way and vegetation along the tracks.
The study has been running all year. On January 21, 2026, the Council hired TJKM Transportation Consultants, and the firm presented its first analysis on June 17. That analysis included a five-foot walkway along the full length of the lane. At its September 16 meeting, the Council narrowed the options. According to the City Manager's recap, staff will now study three scenarios:
- The status quo, with two-way traffic and no dedicated walkway.
- One-way travel from Watkins to Maple.
- One-way travel from Walnut to Maple, with two-way travel kept between Walnut and Watkins.
The Council told staff to protect as many trees as possible and to keep walkways at the minimum required width. Put plainly, the Council would rather change traffic direction than take out the trees that make the lane worth walking. Staff recommended expanding TJKM's contract by $91,375 to cover one more traffic scenario, four public meetings, a topographic survey, and plans, specifications and cost estimates for the walkway. The four public meetings are where residents who use this route will have their say. The recap does not give a date for the study's return to Council.
What Is Fenced Off at the Park
At the Watkins end, Holbrook-Palmer Park is partway through its own rebuild. The Town's park page still shows the notice that the playground would close for renovation starting May 4, 2026. As of the Town's September 2026 departmental report, the playground replacement was 60 percent complete. Plans for the playground restroom building were still waiting on permit approval.
That puts the timing in a particular order. The library garden opened in late June. The playground at the far end was still under construction in September. For several months, then, the campus end has had the new outdoor play space and the park end has had the construction fence. The Town's FY 2026/27 capital budget also funds asphalt pathway repairs inside Holbrook-Palmer Park, but no construction dates have been published.
The Courts Are Being Reassigned
The tennis courts may be the biggest change to how people actually use the park day to day. Two related decisions passed on the September 16 consent agenda.
The first was the fourth amendment to the Town's agreement with Player Capital Tennis, the company that manages the courts and has the exclusive right to teach tennis there. Player Capital pays the Town $50,000 a year. The staff report says community members and the Parks and Recreation Committee had asked for that court use to be better defined and possibly limited. The second was a new capital project to convert the clay court to a hard court. Once that's done, Court 1 can become permanent pickleball courts.
| Court or use | What changed in September | What comes next |
|---|---|---|
| Court 1 | Can be reserved for pickleball when not booked for tennis | Permanent conversion to four pickleball courts |
| Court 3 | Still clay | $45,000 approved to design the switch to a hard court |
| Lessons | Limited to three courts on weekend and holiday mornings | More court-use talks to follow committee feedback |
| Reservations | Clearer booking priority, plus a required no-show and cancellation policy | Not yet decided |
The $45,000 pays only for design. Money for construction, and any role for donations, will be decided once design work and cost estimates are in. No construction date has been set. For now, the change you'll notice is the reservation system. Pickleball players can book Court 1 when tennis hasn't claimed it, and lessons no longer take every court on weekend mornings.
A Route That Already Works as One Place
Programming already runs at both ends of the corridor. The Atherton Arts Foundation runs drop-in programs at 150 Watkins Avenue, the park's address. This October that meant Open Studio sessions, Pressed Flower Art, a watercolor workshop, paper quilling, and a fiber arts afternoon called Yarn It. At the other end, library programs mix storytime with sewing basics and cultural events like a Diwali celebration.
These dates are coming up between now and the end of the year:
- Today, Thursday, October 29, 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. The Town's Halloween Spooktacular is at Atherton Town Center, 80 Fair Oaks Lane. Plans include bounce houses, treats, library crafts, costume parades through the Police Department, and a Town Center scavenger hunt.
- Saturday, October 31. Botanical Art: Autumn, from the Atherton Arts Foundation at Holbrook-Palmer Park.
- Wednesday, November 11. The library is closed for Veterans Day.
- November 25 through 27. The library closes early on Wednesday, November 25, and stays closed Thursday and Friday for Thanksgiving.
- December 24 through 27. The library closes early on Christmas Eve and stays closed Friday, December 25, through Sunday, December 27.
Today's Spooktacular is a good example of the route in use. Families start at Town Center, the library sits next door, and the park is at the far end of a lane with no sidewalk. A five-foot walkway is a small piece of public works, but on this lane it would join three civic spaces Atherton has spent 2026 improving. When TJKM's public meetings are scheduled, the Town will post them along with the next Dinkelspiel Station Lane report, and that's the next date to watch on this route.
Changes like a new garden, a reworked set of courts and a possible walkway all affect how a property near the park and Town Center lives day to day. At Dana Rae Stone, we track these civic projects as closely as we track sales. If you're curious how the walkway study or the park work might shape your street, let's talk about your home.
