Quick Take
More than a year of public engagement has culminated in the City of Santa Cruz’s 50-year vision draft for West Cliff Drive. In that vision, the city confirms its intention to transition the coastal road to one-way westbound vehicle traffic. About 50 community members gathered Thursday to share their thoughts on the vision draft for the first time.
Following numerous public engagement sessions spanning more than a year, the City of Santa Cruz has unveiled its 50-year vision draft for West Cliff. Iconic coastal West Cliff Drive has seen its fair share of storm damage and erosion over the past year-plus, spurring civic leaders and community members to more seriously mull its future.
The 50-year vision draft is a comprehensive, high-level look at the community’s desires for what West Cliff will look like in 50 years, as well as how the community wishes to use the road in the future. It is intended to provide an outline for the city to seek resources and funding for long-term projects along the road, and lay out ways to promote coastal resilience against the effects of climate change. The city plans to update the vision every 10 years to stay up to date with the coast’s current situation.
Perhaps most notably, the draft states the city’s vision to transition from two-way vehicle traffic along West Cliff Drive to one-way westbound traffic to prioritize pedestrian and bicycle access, a common desire brought up in community input and a hot topic of discussion over the past year. That vision includes separate pedestrian and bicycle lanes to accommodate all modes of transportation. However, when and how the conversion would begin is still to be determined.
Last week, the community got its first chance to share its thoughts on the 50-year vision draft. About 50 people came to the London Nelson Community Center on Thursday evening to do just that.
Attendees broke into groups, and because the vision is a very early, 10,000-foot view of what the next 50 years might look like for the famous Santa Cruz coast, much of the discussion centered on how the city should prioritize its big-picture goals. In just about every group, the debate between one-way and two-way traffic continued to be a main focus — with some reaffirming their stance in favor of a two-way road, and others expressing a desire to prioritize pedestrian and bicycle access.
Others said that the idea of finding nature-based solutions — projects to protect, restore and sustainably manage the ecosystem — are a confusing component that they don’t completely understand.
“Generally, the thread that went through the group is that they’d like to learn more about this, because it’s a pretty meaty topic that we don’t understand well enough to move forward with,” said city transportation planner Claire Gallogly, adding that residents expressed concern about noise and environmental impacts that come with the projects.
Al Ramadan, a leader of the resident group Save West Cliff, said he is excited to see a more concrete vision that brings together decadeslong conversations. He added that it’s clear that major swell threats and roadway and bicycle/pedestrian usage continue to be the biggest concerns for the general public — and that some still struggle to accept the changing local landscape.
“I think hope springs eternal for those who want to continue using it the way it has been,” he said, adding that he is not optimistic that West Cliff can retain two-way traffic and a pedestrian path while introducing a separate bike path. “But people are coming to the realization that maybe we can’t.”
Ramadan said he is looking forward to city council action on the vision draft in April, after which the city can begin planning projects in the near future. Assistant City Manager Laura Schmidt said that after the expected council approval, the city will begin working on a shorter-term roadmap that lays out the project goals for the subsequent two to three years and provides a more general outline for the years beyond that.
Latest news
Check out our Carmageddon road delay list here. Pay particular attention to:
Starting next Monday, March 11, at 9 a.m., the Highway 1 corridor project will shut down the Capitola Avenue overcrossing at Highway 1 to all traffic to prepare for demolition. The closure will last 14 months, and crews will begin constructing a new overcrossing shortly after, which is expected to open in the summer or fall of 2025. A detour will be in place in Capitola and Soquel via Bay Avenue/Porter Street and Park Avenue. Message and directional signs will be posted to assist travelers.
From Saturday, March 23, at 7 p.m. through Sunday, March 24, at 7 p.m., travelers will encounter a full closure of Highway 1 between Bay Avenue/Porter Street and Park Avenue. Demolition crews will use this 24-hour closure to safely demolish the Capitola Avenue overcrossing and haul materials away.
Caltrans has canceled the planned closure of one lane of Highway 17 north of Scotts Valley on Monday at 8 p.m. because of weather.
The Pure Water Soquel water purification project continues to move forward, and its current work will affect parts of Laurel Street in Santa Cruz. The installation of an architectural cover for the piping along the Laurel Street bridge will continue this week between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m., shutting down one lane of eastbound Laurel Street.
The PV Water College Lake Project will shut down one eastbound lane on Highway 129 between Sakata Lane and Rodriguez Street in South County. Crews are installing a 6-mile water supply pipeline along the road.
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