Submit comment before hearing

RTC to gather community input Thursday on ‘locally preferred alternative’ of electric passenger rail

SANTA CRUZ >> It’s not too late to weigh in on options for the contentious “rail-trail project.”

Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission will hold a virtual public hearing to gather community feedback on transit options for the Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line at 9:30 a.m. Thursday. Until noon Wednesday, the RTC is accepting written and emailed comments about each interested individual’s “preferred” option — whether it aligns with the current “preferred option” in the study done for the integrated transit network.

The Transit Corridor Alternatives Analysis and Rail Network Integration Study was created in partnership with Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District and other local agencies. The study considered transit alternatives for the existing rail right-of-way that offered varying levels of equity, environment and economy — the three E’s that have been driving consideration around the project as a “triple-bottom-line sustainability framework.”

After considering the right-ofway, which passes within 1 mile of half of the county’s population and can provide access to 44 schools and 92 parks from Santa Cruz to Watsonville, according to the RTC website, the study concluded that the proposed locally preferred alternative would be an electric passenger rail.

Other alternatives studied were a fixed-route bus system and an autonomous road train. Each alternative was suggested with the goal of coexisting with a bicycle and pedestrian trail along the right of way. The electric passenger rail alternative will allow for vehicles to travel from 30 mph to 60 mph and from 11 to 13 stations (some of them possibly seasonal to accommodate tourist traffic, the report hints). Elements such as frequency of service and daily span of service will be established in future phases of the project. With sustainability in mind, alternative fuel technologies would be utilized, according to the analysis compiled by RTC.

“A decision on whether the rail option will be electric commuter rail or electric light rail is not recommended as part of this planning study,” authors wrote in the final draft published online Jan. 6.