Quick Take
Transit officials are proposing an 8-foot trail over the Santa Cruz Harbor rail bridge between Seabright Avenue and 7th Avenue that could be used by as many as 450 cyclists and pedestrians daily.
As businesses in Santa Cruz’s Seabright neighborhood and around the Santa Cruz Harbor continue to struggle and bike and pedestrian access remains cut off during the long-term Murray Street Bridge retrofit, some relief might be on the way.
At its Thursday meeting, the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) will consider allowing the City of Santa Cruz to use the RTC-owned rail bridge adjacent to the Murray Street project as a temporary pedestrian and bicycle bridge to bypass the construction zone.
In late August, the Santa Cruz City Council voted to explore turning the rail bridge into a temporary bicycle and pedestrian path. At that meeting, city transportation planner Matt Starkey said there were a number of options the city and the RTC could pursue, including building a narrow path next to the tracks, a wider path next to the tracks for better cyclist access, or a trail placed on top of the existing tracks.
The RTC meeting agenda lays out an initial design for the temporary trail that could see up to 450 users per day crossing over the Santa Cruz Harbor between Seabright Avenue and 7th Avenue. The trail will be 8 feet wide and the configuration will change as it stretches from one side of the bridge to the other. On the Seabright Avenue side, the trail will be next to the rail line and to the north. As it crosses the harbor, the trail will run on top of the existing rail line with chain-link fencing and sandbag supports on each side. As the trail heads toward 7th Avenue, it will remain on top of the rail line.
Starkey told Lookout on Friday that this temporary path is expected to cost about $1.15 million, and that there is no specific timeline for the construction yet, but that city staff should get more clarity at the Nov. 18 city council meeting.
The agreement will require approval from the RTC’s contracted railroad operator, Saint Paul & Pacific Railroad, which is a subsidiary of Minnesota-based Progressive Rail.
Deciding how to spend $15 million in grant funding
Each year, the RTC decides how it will spend millions in state and federal transportation grants. This year, the agency received 26 applications for funding and will distribute $15 million from state and federal sources.
The agency won’t be able to fund every request, but staff are recommending choosing projects that focus on safety, bicycle and pedestrian networks, reducing the amount of time people spend in cars, and serving disadvantaged communities. Some, like Capitola sidewalk improvements, a Freedom Boulevard overhaul and bicycle and pedestrian upgrades near San Lorenzo Valley schools have been approved for funding. Others, like Bay Street paving, Bear Creek Road and Empire Grade pavement maintenance, and the installation of electric vehicle chargers at Lode Street Yard off of Portola Drive in Live Oak were not recommended for funding.
Four segments of the Coastal Rail Trail, along with the passenger rail project, have also been funded, although not enough to start construction. Trail Segments 8 through 11 — which run from the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf to State Park Drive in Aptos — could get $4 million to help cover some of the pre-construction cost increases the commission has been wrestling with. The train project will get $2.8 million to cover some of the $15 million still needed for an environmental review. If the RTC can combine that with $5 million from its discretionary funds, it could start on early work reviewing the project’s environmental impacts while seeking more grant funding to cover the shortfall.
A public hearing to make final decisions on how to spend the $15 million in state and federal transportation funds is scheduled for Thursday at 9:30 a.m.
Latest news
Check out our Carmageddon road project list here. This week, pay particular attention to:
- Roadway improvements are shutting down one lane of Highway 9 between Willowbrook Drive and the northern junction of Highway 236 starting on Monday and lasting through May 20, 2026. Work hours are between 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Mondays through Thursdays.
- Drainage, striping work and guardrail repair are shutting down the northbound and southbound Highway 17 off-ramps at Pasatiempo Drive and Mount Hermon Road overnight from Monday through Friday between 8:30 p.m. to 6 a.m.
- Pavement, guardrail and erosion control work are shutting down about 1 mile of Upper East Zayante Road on weekdays between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. through early November. The road will open up between noon and 12:30 p.m. each day to let traffic pass.
- A full closure of the Murray Street Bridge will run until February 2026. It is closed to vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians. Vehicle traffic detours are along Soquel Avenue and Capitola Road via Seabright Avenue and 7th Avenue. Bicycles are being detoured across Arana Gulch and along Broadway via Seabright Avenue and 7th Avenue. Pedestrians are being detoured around the north harbor.
- The installation of the Newell Creek Pipeline on Graham Hill Road between Summit Avenue and Lockewood Lane is taking 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 is closing down sections of Highway 9 between Pleasant Way/Madrona Road and Pool Drive, Glengarry Road and Arrow Lane, Ben Lomond Toll Road and Pike Road, California Drive/Middle Road and Larkspur Street, and Big Basin Way and Two Bar Road from Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.
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