Quick Take:
The Santa Cruz Metro board is holding a public hearing on its proposed ballot measure at 11 a.m. Monday, where it could decide whether or not to move it forward to the county board of supervisors in August.
The Santa Cruz Metro Board of Directors is holding a public hearing at 11 a.m. Monday on its proposed sales tax ballot measure, before deciding whether to move forward with putting it on the November ballot.
In June, the board met and voted to introduce an ordinance to place a half-cent sales tax ballot measure on the November ballot as a way to secure funding as its major service expansion, Reimagine Metro, nears the end of its one-time funding.
Prior to this move, a group of advocates named Friends of Santa Cruz Metro began to collect signatures to get a half-cent sales tax on the ballot for the same purpose, but did not make the May deadline to qualify for the November general election. The group is still gathering signatures to place the measure on the ballot either next year in a special election or the March 2028 primary.
But the board may end up putting its own identical measure on this year’s ballot in order to give the agency two chances to secure a local funding source.
Another reason that the board is considering this move is that new state legislation jeopardizes the advantage a citizen’s initiative process brings to the electoral process. Currently, a measure qualifying for a ballot via a citizen’s initiative only requires a simple majority to pass, while a measure that an elected body places on a ballot requires two-thirds approval. If the new legislation, Assembly Constitutional Amendment 22, passes, then citizens initiatives would also require a two-thirds majority.
The board could decide to adopt the ordinance at Monday’s meeting, after which point it would head to the county board of supervisors in August. The supervisors could then vote to put the measure on the November ballot.
If placed on the ballot, the measure faces an uphill battle. The agency’s most recent polling estimates support for a new sales tax from the high 50s to the low 60s percent, significantly lower than the two-thirds threshold required to pass.
Metro requesting feedback on digital real-time signage
Santa Cruz Metro is also testing new digital signage at its transit center around the River Front area this summer. These are intended to give passengers real-time information about arrival information, service updates, travel notifications, and more.
The signs are part of a pilot project to continue modernizing the transit system and improve both accessibility and the rider experience.
Throughout the summer, Metro is testing the new signage’s ability to accurately display information before expanding the service. That includes weather accuracy, ease of use, accessibility features, and more.
Click here and scroll to the bottom to fill out a survey about the new technology.
Latest news
Here’s what’s happening this week on our roadways:
- Utility and shoulder work is shutting down one lane in various sections of Highway 9 from Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Those sections are between Ramona Drive and Stapp Road, Watermans Gap Junction and Highway 9, and El Solyo Heights Drive and Graham Hill/Bennett Street.
- Drainage repair is causing a full closure of the southbound Highway 1 Buena Vista Drive on-ramp on July 16 and 17, and again from July 20-24.
- Bridge work is shutting down alternating lanes of Highway 9 between Pool Drive and Old County Highway and Riverdale Park and Monaco Lane until April 30, 2027.
- Roadway excavation is shutting down the southbound Highway 1 on-ramp at Park Avenue until 7 a.m. on August 19.
- There is a six-week closure of the southbound auxiliary lane between Soquel Drive in Live Oak and 41st Avenue in Capitola due to guardrail work.
