Carmageddon: Capitola to consider next steps for Grand Avenue pathway in the spring

The Capitola City Council began the process to figure out what to do, if anything, about a popular pedestrian path that crumbled due to coastal erosion. It voted to allocate $13,000 toward a concept plan for the Grand Avenue pathway on Depot Hill, a stretch of which collapsed into the ocean in February. 

Santa Cruz-based landscaping firm SSA Landscape Architects will lead the first phase, which involves a detailed study of the area’s terrain, a concept design for the pathway and a cost estimate for a potential project.

Councilmember Melinda Orbach was the only “no” vote, expressing concern about reallocating money from other projects for an effort that will not stop erosion of the pathway in the long run, and about possible property disputes with those who own houses adjacent to the area. The council voted to move $10,800 from a sea level rise adaptation project at Esplanade Park and $2,200 from the Monterey Park playground project.

“Ultimately, I think nature wins,” she said, “and it’s hard for me to again support infrastructure that will eventually fall into the ocean.”

The pathway is no stranger to coastal erosion, as just over a block of the path between Oakland Avenue and Hollister Avenue has been shut to public access since 2018. The city had previously considered options to reopen the failed section, including possibly relocating the path farther inland with about 10 feet of available space, but did not end up doing so.

The city hired Pacific Crest Engineering to evaluate the February collapse. In April, the firm said that even if the city did improve drainage in the area, the path could still fail again in less than a decade without a major project to stabilize the entire cliff, which would be very involved and could cost tens of millions of dollars. It said that the city should relocate the path as far inland as possible and make it narrower, as well as install a better drainage system. Even so, the firm’s analysis said that the risk of losing the walkway to continued erosion will remain.

The vote does not mean that the city is committing to restore or replace the pathway yet, but the study will help it decide whether to proceed with a project at alll.

“This is just to get us to the place where we know what we’re talking about,” said Councilmember Susan Westman. “We need this information to be able to make a decision about whether or not it would be wise to go forward.”

The study process is expected to take two to three months, and staff is planning to come back to the council in the spring to consider next steps.

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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 in Ben Lomond and the northern junction of Highway 236 through May 20, 2026. Work hours are 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Mondays through Thursdays.
  
• Storm damage repairs on the railroad bridge at New Brighton State Beach in Capitola will cause intermittent traffic delays for those traveling to and from the park during December.
  
• Emergency sewer work in Soquel Village could occasionally block access to driveways, sidewalks, on-street parking and interrupt sewer service on weekdays until June 30, 2026, on Soquel Drive, Porter Street and Main Street. Work on Soquel Drive will be overnight from 8:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Porter and Main Streets. Other, shorter-duration potholing on Porter, Main and Center streets and Daubenbiss Avenue will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
  
• Striping work is causing overnight moving closures on northbound and southbound Highway 1 between Larkin Valley Road and the Pajaro River bridge from Monday through Friday between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m.
  
• Pavement work is shutting down the northbound 41st Avenue on- and off-ramps and the Soquel Drive on- and off-ramps overnight on Monday from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m.
  
• Paving and electrical work is shutting down the northbound Highway 1 on-ramp at Main Street and the off-ramp at Airport Boulevard in Watsonville overnight between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. from Monday through Thursday. Paving is also shutting down the northbound Highway 1 on-ramp at Mar Monte Avenue in La Selva Beach between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m.
  
• A full closure of the Murray Street Bridge is scheduled to 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.

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