The idea to tear out the rail line and replace it with a trail-only approach was defeated by Santa Cruz County voters in June 2022. Matt Farrell, board chair of Friends of the Rail & Trail, argues for following the direction provided by voters, and unpacks what that means for today’s debate about the future of the publicly owned rail corridor.
Matt Farrell
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Let’s talk about funding the rail trail in Santa Cruz County
Greenway founder and rail trail opponent Bud Colligan made incorrect claims in a March op-ed, asserts Matt Farrell, board chair of Santa Cruz County Friends of the Rail and Trail. Farrell explains how local taxpayers are expected to pay a small percentage of costs for passenger rail on the 32-mile rail line, thanks to federal and state funding. He also highlights the $1 billion cost for a 7-mile segment of Highway 1 widening. The public needs good information when it comes to the debate about rail and trail, Farrell says.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Santa Cruz County needs a reality check on the rail-trail project
Matt Farrell, board chair of Santa Cruz County Friends of the Rail and Trail, takes issue with a Feb. 4 op-ed questioning the feasibility of passenger rail in Santa Cruz County. Here, he explains why our community wants a rail system, revisits what voters have previously decided and provides an update on the segments of the trail already being built.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Board of supervisors has what it needs to move rail-trail project forward
The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors needs to vote Tuesday to move forward with the coastal rail-trail project, writes Matt Farrell, board chair of Santa Cruz County Friends of the Rail and Trail. If not, our community won’t meet the state’s requirements to receive nearly $68 million in state grant funding, he says. Two supervisors, Manu Koenig and Bruce McPherson, voted no on the most recent round.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Supervisors McPherson and Koenig are wildly out of step with community on rail trail; they need to listen to voters
Matt Farrell, board chair for Santa Cruz County Friends of the Rail & Trail, takes a pair of county supervisors to task for voting against a staff recommendation to approve next steps for two segments of the Coastal Rail Trail. “In multiple elections and over several years,” he writes, “voters in Santa Cruz County have been crystal clear about their support for both a trail today and rail in the future.”