Carmageddon: Bay Street redevelopment; 4 takeaways from new passenger train report

Bay Street will have just one car lane north of Escalona Drive on Santa Cruz’s Westside as workers put the finishing touches on the first phase of a multi-phase redesign of the north-south corridor in order to improve infrastructure for pedestrians, cyclists and public transit.

The $5.4 million improvements span the length of Bay Street, from the main entrance to UC Santa Cruz all the way to West Cliff Drive by the Dream Inn, and involve expanding bike paths, removing some bus stops and removing auto lanes in some areas. It is split up into five stages that are expected to last through 2027.

The first phase, which stretches from Escalona Drive to Nobel Drive/Iowa Drive, includes a one-way separated bike lane on each side of Bay Street, along with converting a northbound auto lane and the shoulder into a protected area that shields both cyclists and pedestrians from vehicles. The project will remove one lane of car traffic, leaving a single lane in each direction.

City of Santa Cruz transportation planner Claire Gallogly said crews are paving this section of road right now, which will be followed by striping. That is when workers will remove one lane of car traffic from the northbound lanes. It’s expected to be finished in the next couple of weeks.

The second phase, which runs from West Cliff Drive to California Street, was also originally expected to break ground this year. Gallogly said it has been pushed to next year, largely due to emergency work on West Cliff Drive taking priority.

Gallogly added that the short segment of rail trail that opened in May provides a good alternative while the Bay Street project continues moving forward. The trail segment stretches from the intersection of Bay Street and California Street to the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf. 

Four things to know about the RTC’s new 312-page passenger train concept report

The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission released its full draft project concept report for its ambitious passenger rail project last week. There will be a public hearing on Thursday around 10 a.m., which will take up a good portion of the commission’s meeting. Those interested in making comments or providing feedback can do so in person at the Scotts Valley City Council Chambers or via Zoom.

Much of the information in the report was summarized in an executive summary released in June, but the report goes into greater detail on the project’s overview. Here are some of the highlights:

Station locations and seasonality

The report identifies nine permanent station locations spanning from Natural Bridges Drive in Santa Cruz to Pajaro. The stations between those endpoints are planned to be located on Beach Street, in Seabright, on 17th Avenue, in Capitola, near Cabrillo College, in Aptos and in downtown Watsonville.

The report mentions that there is the possibility for additional stations that will be served on a seasonal basis, but potential locations were not specified. Those details, and the final locations for the stations, will be confirmed as the report is finalized.

The first mile/last mile question

The question of how to efficiently move people to the stations to board trains and get them to their destination after getting off the train is still in discussion. There are initial plans for bicycle parking and bikeshare amenities at many of the stations to promote connectivity for cyclists. However, locations like Cabrillo College could require new direct walking/cycling connections to its station.

Ridership

The report estimates that between 4,200 and 5,400 people would ride the train each weekday, and between 2,100 and 3,200 on weekends. It expects that the passenger rail service would see more daily boardings than the Sonoma area’s SMART train and San Diego County’s COASTER train, but fewer than SPRINTER in Southern California. However, due to Santa Cruz County’s generally small size, the 31-mile train is projected to have a higher average daily boarding per capita than all of the train services mentioned above.

Public utilities

The project could require the relocation of public utilities as well as network upgrades for electricity supply, assuming that the RTC decides to go with electric trains instead of another zero-emissions technology, like hydrogen. That would affect public utilities beyond the footprint of the project. In the project area, major public utilities include public electrical distribution, transmission lines and natural gas pipelines.

Latest news

Check out our Carmageddon road project list here. This week, pay particular attention to:

• The Highway 1 off-ramps at Park Avenue in Capitola are closed as part of the Highway 1 expansion project. The southbound off-ramp is scheduled to be closed until October. The northbound off-ramp was closed in April and and is slated to stay closed until August.

• The Highway 1 on-ramp at Park Avenue is closed for five months in order for crews to reconstruct the ramp. Northbound travelers will be directed to take Soquel Drive to Porter Street to join northbound Highway 1 at the Bay Avenue/Porter on-ramp. Southbound travelers will be directed to exit Highway 1 at the Bay/Porter off-ramp, continue on Bay Avenue to arrive at Park Avenue. The ramp is expected to reopen in November.

• Pavement, guardrail and erosion control work will shut down about one mile of Upper East Zayante Road in Felton on weekdays from Aug. 11 through early November between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. The road will open up between noon and 12:30 each day to let traffic pass.

• Shoulder work will cause an overnight closure of one lane of northbound Highway 1 Buena Vista Drive and Rob Roy/Freedom Boulevard from Monday through Friday from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.

• A full closure of the Murray Street Bridge is slated to run until February 2026. It will be closed to vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians. Vehicle traffic will be detoured along Soquel Avenue and Capitola Road via Seabright Avenue and 7th Avenue. Bicycles will be detoured across Arana Gulch and along Broadway via Seabright Avenue and 7th Avenue. Pedestrians will be detoured around the north harbor.

• The installation of the Newell Creek Pipeline on Graham Hill Road between Summit Avenue and Lockewood Lane will take place on weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and could cause delays of up to five minutes.

• Paving on La Madrona Drive to complete the Santa Cruz-Scotts Valley Intertie Project will shut down the northbound lane of the road on Saturday. The southbound lane will remain open with one-way alternating traffic controls, and Highway 17, Sims Road and Mount Hermon Road will serve as the main detours.

• Utility work will close down sections of Highway 9 between Old Big Trees Road and Graham Hill/Bennett Street from Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.

• Storm damage repair will shut down sections of Eureka Canyon Road in Corralitos for several months. Work will take place on weekdays only, from 7:30 a.m. through 5 p.m., and is expected to last through Oct. 31.

• Pacific Gas & Electric overhead work will shut down a stretch of Jarvis Road north of Santa Cruz from the 500 to 900 addresses on Tuesday between 9 a.m. and noon, and again from 1 to 4 p.m.

• Tree trimming on Thurber Lane in Santa Cruz will shut down the road between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. The main detours are Helen Avenue, Pestana Avenue and Cabrillo Avenue.

• Pajaro Valley Water’s College Lake project is now complete, and the roadwork along Highway 129 is finished.

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