Quick Take
The Santa Cruz City Council will vote on whether to approve this year’s updates to the city’s active transportation plan, a guide for implementing projects, policies and initiatives that promote and improve walking, biking and mass transit.
The Santa Cruz City Council is poised to vote on whether to approve the 2026 updates to the city’s Active Transportation Plan, initially adopted in early 2017.
The city received funding from Caltrans to update the plan, which is designed to help implement active transportation in the city, with the goal of getting people out of their cars by promoting walking, biking and public transit. Following its adoption of the plan in 2017, the city used it to secure about $56 million in funding for active transportation projects.
City staff used public outreach and stakeholder meetings to decide what to focus on, settling on four goals: building and maintaining bicycle and other transportation networks; safety and security on roads; continued investments in active transportation; and education.
The city hosted an open house on the plan in January for another round of public feedback, with more than 80 residents attending. The final draft was made public in late January, and members of the community had until the end of February to provide further feedback.
The final plan envisions a robust bicycle and pedestrian network that includes new separated multiuse paths, protected bike lanes, sidewalks, crossing improvements and more, according to a staff report. The report says that about 34% of all daily trips in the city are done on bike or by walking, which shows that improving the active transportation network is worthwhile.
The city council will consider the plan updates at its meeting Tuesday, which starts at 11:45 a.m.
Bike Santa Cruz County survey
Bike Santa Cruz County is asking cyclists from around the county to participate in its second annual survey by sharing their experiences on the road and ideas for the future.
In a release, the organization said it hopes to gain insight into what locals experience on a day-to-day basis while cycling. That includes where they feel unsafe, where there should be better connections, thoughts on e-bikes and the Coastal Rail Trail, as well as what types of bike events people would like to see.
Bike Santa Cruz County intends to compile the data and present it in meetings with city and county officials and public agency staff, as well as sharing it with local advocacy groups.
The survey is available in English and Spanish and will be available on the Bike Santa Cruz County website. The organization will randomly choose 10 survey participants to receive prizes after the survey closes June 30.
Latest news
Here’s what’s happening this week on our roadways:
- Electrical work, tree work and utility work are shutting down one lane of Highway 9 between Hihn Street and San Lorenzo Valley Elementary School, Cascade Avenue and Irwin Way, Riverdale Park and Monaco Lane, Pool Drive and Old County Highway, and McGaffigan Mill Road and Saratoga Toll Road from Monday through Friday between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m.
- Drainage work, electrical work and concrete work are shutting down various parts of northbound and southbound Highway 1 around Watsonville overnight between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. Monday through Friday. There will be overnight traffic control from Riverside Drive to Larkin Valley Road from Monday through Friday, and near Main Street and Airport Boulevard from Monday through Thursday. The northbound on- and off-ramps at Riverside Drive will be closed from Sunday through Tuesday, the northbound Main Street on-ramp will be closed overnight on Monday, and both the on- and off-ramps will be closed overnight from Tuesday through Friday. The southbound Airport Boulevard on- and off-ramps will be closed overnight Monday, and the northbound Airport Boulevard on-ramp and southbound Airport Boulevard on- and off-ramps will be closed overnight from Tuesday through Friday.
- There is a six-week auxiliary lane closure on Highway 1 of the southbound auxiliary lane between Soquel Drive in Live Oak and 41st Avenue in Capitola due to guardrail work.
- 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, 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.
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