Carmageddon: RTC commissioners push back on rail trail cost-cutting proposals, as some look to revive railbanking debate

Santa Cruz County transportation commissioners expressed deep concerns last week about the agency’s plans to try to reduce the cost of building 7 miles of the Coastal Rail Trail, expressing frustration over issues like railbanking, transit equity in South County and the agency’s intention to compete for state and federal grants that have traditionally been used to fund road projects in the four cities.

“I want to urge the commission to take a hard look at how we’re prioritizing investments that reflect the needs of our entire region, not just North County,” said Eduardo Montesino, chair of the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) and a member of the Watsonville City Council.

The RTC faces a $70 million funding gap to build sections of the trail that would connect the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf to State Park Drive in Aptos, driven by rising construction and material costs. The project faces tight deadlines, with final design due in 2026 and construction required to begin by 2027.

Commissioners faced a difficult choice at their most recent meeting last Thursday: find the money to complete the sections of the trail, known as Segments 8-11, or extend the construction timeline and risk losing as much as $80 million in state grants. A staff report published last week offered three options to complete the project. But those options likely come with consequences, as all of them involve building only part of the trail first, and each means the RTC risks losing previously awarded grant funding that ranges from $40 million to $80 million.

Commissioners were largely uneasy about the possibility of both losing grant funding and building only part of the trail with existing funds. District 1 and 2 County Supervisors Manu Koenig and Kim De Serpa, both RTC commissioners, pointed to the interim trail — building the trail over the tracks rather than next to them — as the only true viable path forward given the higher likelihood that there is enough money to build it. This option would require railbanking, or removing the railroad tracks while theoretically preserving the corridor for future use. This would halt plans for passenger rail service for the foreseeable future. The idea was rejected by more than 72% of county voters in 2022’s Measure D.

County planner Rob Tidmore told the commission that the estimated cost of building the interim trail would be an estimated $107 million, leaving $25 million to $26 million left over of roughly $133 million in programmed funding for the four segments. That assumes the state would even allow the agency to keep the grant if it builds this option. However, RTC planner Grace Blakeslee said it’s unclear how state grants would be affected by pursuing the interim trail.

RTC commissioner and District 5 County Supervisor Monica Martinez called the three options “not ideal” and urged the commission to start working more closely with state representatives to figure out what is possible with the existing state funding so that the commission can make an informed decision by the end of the year on how to proceed with the project.

Commissioner and Scotts Valley City Councilmember Steve Clark pointed to the RTC’s plan to compete for a cut of $15 million in state and federal grants awarded to the agency through a program that typically allows cities in the county to bid for funding on their transportation projects. Clark and other commissioners raised concerns about the RTC essentially competing against other local cities for the same pool of funds, particularly given that the transit agency is the body that chooses which projects should receive the money.

“I’m very aware of the need for our own construction projects and our own individual city needs in there as well,” he said. “So I’m not comfortable with competing for that, because we’ve overspent on what we’ve built so far.”

Even though commissioners had reservations about how to move forward with the RTC’s original plan to build the trail next to the tracks, Commissioner Andy Schiffrin — alternate for District 3 County Supervisor Justin Cummings — said switching gears now to the interim trail would present a host of challenges. Among them, the commission would have to vote to abandon the rail line in order to build the trail on top of the tracks, and there could be a lengthy battle for approval to abandon the freight easement.

“Going forward with the interim trail means, realistically, that there will never be rail on the line,” he said. “That’s a decision that I think is a very significant one for the commission.”

Commissioners unanimously voted to approve a motion by Schiffrin to have RTC staff meet with members of the California Transportation Commission to discuss the funding options. The motion also directed staff to return in November with cost estimates for two different trail designs for Segments 8-11 — either building the trail next to the tracks or on top of them — and share details for how to construct Segments 13-20 of the trail, which run from Rio Del Mar into Watsonville.  

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

• Roadway improvements will shut down one lane of Highway 9 between Willow Brook Drive and the northern junction of Highway 236 starting on Monday and lasting through May 20, 2026. Work hours will be between 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Mondays through Thursdays. 

• One lane of southbound Highway 17 will be closed between Glenwood Cutoff and West Vine Hill Road from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. from Monday through Friday.

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

• There will be overnight closures of southbound Highway 1 between the area 1 mile north of Larkin Valley Road and the Trafton Road undercrossing in Monterey County. Monday will see a southbound lane closure near Larkin Valley Road, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday will see alternating southbound lane closures between Larkin Valley Road and Mar Monte Avenue. Work will take place from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. every day

• 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 7:30 p.m. to 5 a.m.

• A full closure of the Murray Street Bridge will 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.

• Utility work and tree work close down sections of Highway 9 between Arboleda Way/Highland, Ramona Drive and Sylvan Avenue from Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 4 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. through Oct. 31.

• Roadwork on northbound and southbound Main Street between 5th Street and East Lake Avenue in Watsonville will cause intermittent closures of one lane in each direction. Sidewalks within the work zone will be closed, and pedestrians and cyclists can use the crosswalks outside the construction area.

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