Build the coastal trail: A tale of 28 SC county villages
Stop the Regional Transportation Commission with plans for a train through our villages. Santa Cruz County is a highly diverse collection of 28 villages spread out around or between their two big cities as readily visualized by the following estimated 2019 populations:
Group One: City of Santa
Cruz, 62,000; City of Watsonville, 53,000; total 115,000 (42%).
Group Two: Villages between the two cities on the coastal trail: Twin Lakes, 5,000; Live Oak 20,000; Pleasure Point, 6,000; Capitola Village 10,000; Soquel 10,000; total 51,000 (19%).
Group Three: More villages beyond Capitola on the Coastal Trail: Seacliff, 3,500; Aptos Village, 6,500; Aptos Hills 2,500; Rio Del Mar, 9,500; La Selva Beach, 3,000; total 25,000 (9%).
Group Four: There are very few inhabitants living on the rest of the coastal trail from La Selva Beach to Watsonville and they are included in the category “hiding all around the county in the hills, creeks and cliffs”: 27,000; Cities and villages not on the Coastal Trail: Scotts Valley, 12,000; San Lorenzo Valley with 9 villages, 24,000; Corralitos/Interlaken with 7 villages, 19,000; total 82,000 (30%).
Total Santa Cruz County Population (2019 government estimate) = 273,000 (100%)
Villagers want a bike-hike coastal trail:
Group Two villagers are already soundly against any train as was recently evidenced by the newly elected Supervisor for this area, Manu Koenig. Koenig ran on various issues — including “no train.” In addition, Capitola residents two years ago passed Measure L which directed their City Council to ensure pedestrian and non-train access across the city’s historic trestle bridge spanning Soquel Creek. It seems that Santa Cruz Metro wants a coastal bus-trail combination from Santa Cruz to Capitola. This is a practical way of sharing the coastal trail and improving Metro’s bottom line and providing efficient bus service.
Group Three (authors of this piece) are soundly against the train because it is a boondoggle and would have no economic or productive value and would be a sinkhole absorbing scarce public money. This solidarity by villagers is evidenced by the overwhelming “no train” comments on the Nextdoor discussion board for these villages. In addition, there has been overwhelming support for trail- only on radio shows and call-ins as well as many local daily and weekly newspapers. Capitola Village, Seacliff Village, Aptos Village, Aptos Hills, Rio Del Mar, and La Selva Village residents desire and deserve an exclusive bike and hike coastal trail available to all county residents. This is a beautiful coastal trail 7-plus miles and would begin at 47th Avenue at the Capitola Trestle and end at Manresa State Beach. Within that 7 miles there are only seven cross streets: Monterey Drive at Park Avenue, Mar Vista Drive, State Park Drive, Aptos Creek Road, Trout Gulch Road, Clubhouse Drive, and Seascape Boulevard into the resort. Public safety will be improved and, along with ever-increasing e-bikes, local automobile trips will be reduced on our freeways.
Group Four: There are no villages on the Coastal Trail after La Selva to Watsonville. This section of the coastal trail is next with a “Y” in the trail after the recycling plant (similar to Arana Gulch Trail). Turn right and you are on your way to Monterey; turn left and you are going to the heart of Watsonville by connecting to their existing trails. San Lorenzo Valley needs a “river trail”; Scotts Valley needs connections. Heavily traveled county roads need to have bike lanes on the uphill portions as well as repairing all the potholes.
What Needs To Be Done To Get The Coastal Hike-Bike Trail Completed:
The Capitola to La Selva coastal trail project could start approximately six months after filing a one-page federal government rail-banking application (to grandfather the rail corridor easements). Then, the coastal trail could be completed in the fall of 2022 utilizing the expected revenues anticipated by the RTC. This would also coincide with the completion of the Mar Vista overpass adding a huge safe connection to the coastal trail and the seaside for those living on the hillside of the freeway. And those on the seaside could bike or hike to Cabrillo College and Mar Vista School and avoid the extremely dangerous State Park Drive overpass and intersection at Soquel Drive. Next, complete the trail between the two big cities by 2024.
The Importance of January and February 2021 RTC Meetings:
To achieve these goals the
RTC commissioners need to discuss and vote on rail-banking at their January-February 2021 meetings. A majority vote can pass a rail-banking motion, whereas a train (which at this point has never been approved) would take a 2/3 majority to pass. Build our Santa Cruz Coastal Trail now!