Bike Santa Cruz County, a cyclist advocacy and education group, released its Rider Survey Report on Thursday, which shows that the majority of riders feel unsafe on county roads, and that there is growing impatience surrounding the slow pace of construction of the Coastal Rail Trail.
The report takes a close look at what cyclists consider to be the most dangerous locations in the county and reasons why local cyclists feel unsafe, and points out several especially worrisome roads. It also advocates for more safe routes for cyclists to travel, particularly separated bike lanes.
“Riders are telling us loud and clear: give us protected space from fast and heavy traffic and fix the roads we already use,” Mikey Cohen, a board member and survey lead, said in a press release. “This report turns anecdotes into hard numbers cities and the county can’t ignore.”
The survey’s notable findings include that only 2% of respondents feel “very safe” on roads, and that 89% of cyclists saw or experienced a crash or near-miss in the last year. Soquel Avenue, Mission Street, Capitola Road, River Street and Water Street accounted for about half of all bike-related crashes in 2024, and are at the top of the survey’s list of worst streets for cyclists.
More than half of respondents, about 55%, said that protected bike lanes on busy streets are the most important upgrade they would like to see, and while 54% still prefer the county to build both a trail and a passenger rail system, 43% responded with “trail only” or “just build something.” Those respondents cited cost and continued delays as reasons for their growing frustration with pursuing both rail and trail.
The report points to the 2024 Transportation Injury Mapping System, a database used for mapping statewide crashes and road-related injuries. That data closely mirrors what the riders view as the most concerning roads in the county, as the number of crashes involving cyclists are highest on the roads that survey respondents said were the most dangerous.
The report says that improvements like separated bike lanes, pavement and signage on the streets listed above would make them safer and reduce the number of cycling injuries in the county. It also urged local officials to build more miles of off-road trail and find ways to resolve uncertainty around the path forward for the rail and trail.
BSCC will share the report with the board of supervisors, the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission, city councils, and nonprofits to explore funding and design options.
Read the whole report here.