Fresh vision needed rather than a mega structure Passenger rail for region: Build it and they will come

What’s clear from Matt Farrell’s (11/24) Op-Ed was his 20thcentury preparation to be a past parking czar for Santa Cruz, his vision shaped by parking garages to promote an urban auto infrastructure that has congested our cities and roads, accelerated global warming and turned downtowns into concrete deserts. Feed the beast, even when the beast consumes us. Instead, let’s create a fresh vision: urban planning for people, not cars, a re-imagined public space on Lot 4, sustainable 21st- century electrified transit and ecological design aligned with the 2017 amended Downtown Plan “to preserve and enhance the informal ‘ village’ qualities of the Cedar Street Corridor.”

A six-story mega structure spanning Lot 4 isn’t downtown planning, it’s grotesque. Let’s renovate our current library with bells and whistles, enhancing our Civic Center, and then create a green oasis on Lot 4, anchored by the farmers market, a lively public commons for everyone.

— Robert Morgan, Santa Cruz

I have lived in the area all my life. Most of my working life I have had to commute from Watsonville to Santa Cruz.

Over the years I have watched Highway 1 become a parking lot in the mornings and evenings. I actually started working night shift to avoid the traffic. We have the numbers to sustain passenger rail and commuter buses, now we just need the will of our elected officials to get it done. I say build it and they will come.

Bring passenger rail to the entire Monterey Bay Area and people will use it.

I hope it gets done before I retire, it would be such a treat just relax on the way to and from work instead of dealing with driving.

— Mary Larkin-Berlinski

Moss Landing