Carmageddon: RTC pushes back on some grand jury rail-trail criticism; surveys open for Capitola transportation, corridor plans

The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission is pushing back on many of the findings in a Civil Grand Jury report on the county’s long-running rail-trail saga, while acknowledging some of the report’s concerns about rising costs, aging infrastructure and the increasingly expensive prospect of passenger rail.

The RTC will consider submitting responses prepared by its ad hoc committee at its meeting Thursday. The committee, made up of commissioners Kim De Serpa, Gerry Jensen, Manu Koenig, Fred Keeley and chair Eduardo Montesino, agreed with the report on some things, and disagreed on many others.

The committee agreed or partially agreed with the findings that the corridor is aging, saying that the corridor’s condition reflects years of deferred maintenance dating back to before the RTC acquired the line, and that revenues of private railroad companies that used to own it declined over time, preventing maintenance from keeping pace with the needs of the rail line.

It also agreed with the finding that the RTC lacks sufficient financial resources to accomplish all its transportation priorities, which it said is typical, and the main reason for a 25-year transportation plan that is updated every four years. It also agreed with the assessment of rising costs associated with the “ultimate” trail design, or trail next to the rail, forcing the pivot to build some segments of trail over the tracks. The committee said costs of public projects have increased all across the state and country.

The committee agreed that the cost of its ambitious passenger rail project is significantly higher than previous estimates, and said that the RTC recognizes that the project concept report findings “require thoughtful consideration of the feasibility, funding, and implementation of passenger rail,” and that it will use information provided by the project to inform future planning while continuing to pursue opportunities to move passenger rail forward.

The committee disagreed with a number of findings. It partially disagreed with the finding that the RTC failed to accurately gauge the cost to build passenger rail infrastructure, saying that there was a lack of funding for detailed engineering studies prior to the passage of Measure D in 2016. It also disagreed that the RTC lacks a “unified strategic plan” for delivering capital projects, saying that it adopts a 25-year regional transportation plan that is updated every four years.

It disagreed with the assertion that the RTC has been “gripped by political paralysis,” saying that the commission committed to near-term trail development and long-term rail development in a phased approach. It partially disagreed with the finding that there is limited space for both rail and pedestrian infrastructure in the rail corridor, but acknowledged the region’s unique topographical constraints.

The committee disagreed with the finding that the RTC has historically failed to communicate the complete picture of building infrastructure on the rail line, resulting in misleading information from advocacy groups. It wrote that many advocacy groups have been around for years and have long held differing viewpoints and interpretations of projects and studies, but that the RTC has strengthened and prioritized communications and engagement practices in recent years and is committed to ensuring that the public has access to the most reliable information.

The committee also disagreed that the 12-member commission is made up of officials with differing agendas, making it difficult to find consensus and vulnerable to gridlock. It wrote that while gridlock is possible, the RTC make-up is written into state law, and that the goal isn’t always to achieve consensus, but to represent diverse opinions present throughout the region.

Find the full list of responses in the meeting agenda. The meeting begins at 9 a.m. on Thursday at the Watsonville City Council chambers.

Surveys for Capitola Active Transportation Plan, 41st Avenue corridor study

Capitola residents have two surveys they can dig into to provide the city with suggestions and input for ways to improve the city’s transportation infrastructure. One focuses on the 41st Avenue corridor — the main artery in the city — as well as the Clares Street and Capitola Road areas. The other focuses on the active transportation plan, which involves the whole city.

Monday is the final day to take the 41st Avenue corridor survey. If you have already taken a similar survey on the same topic, your responses have already been recorded, and the suggestions from the public are included in the draft corridor plan. However, before the city moves to formally adopt the plan, it is looking for public input on placemaking, which includes things like public space design concepts, landscaping, and other ways to connect the community and create a pleasant environment.

The survey will also ask for suggestions for ways to modify the corridor. You may provide feedback on all of the streets included in the plan, or choose ones you wish to focus on. Click here to access the survey.

The second survey, focusing on the city’s active transportation plan, looks at the entire city. It is the city’s first such plan, and aims to improve quality of life in Capitola by providing people of all ages and abilities to move effectively throughout their community.

The plan’s milestones are split into three phases. The first phase is currently underway, but is reaching the end. It focuses on the city’s existing conditions and needs as the community sees them, so the city is asking residents to provide input on the current challenges and barriers to walking and biking, and seeks to find ways to address them.

The second phase is scheduled to start next spring, and involves forming a draft of recommendations and prioritizing them. This is essentially a first draft of projects to implement, policies to pursue and enact, and citywide programs that could contribute to better active transportation.

The final phase is scheduled to take place during next fall and winter, when a draft of the full active transportation plan is expected to be complete. That includes a comprehensive plan of priorities that provides a roadmap of projects, programs, and investments for active transportation in Capitola over the next decade.

Click here to take the survey. An active transportation plan focus group is also holding a virtual meeting on Tuesday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., which you can register for here.

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 Cascade Avenue and Irwin Way, Spring Creek Road and Riverside Drive, Pool Drive and the Camp Campbell Entrance, and Tin Can Ranch Road and the 23.5-mile postmark south of Highway 35. 

• Shoulder work is causing an overnight closure of the southbound Bay Avenue off-ramp and on-ramp at northbound Highway 1 from Monday through Thursday between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m.

• The southbound Highway 1 off-ramp at Bay Avenue is in the early weeks of a four-month closure that began Aug. 2, as crews reconstruct the ramp as part of the bus-on-shoulder facility. 

• Bridge work is currently 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.