Coastal Rail Trail vision delayed by local hurdles amid uncertainty over state, federal funding

Santa Cruz County transit officials have pushed back their timeline for unveiling what a proposed passenger train service might look like because of a host of local challenges, not federal funding concerns, according to the Regional Transportation Commission’s executive director.

The commission was set to release its Zero Emission Passenger Rail & Trail Project concept report this spring, offering an early vision for county passenger rail, including environmental impacts, ridership estimates and how much a 22-mile passenger rail service might cost. But last week, the agency said it planned to delay releasing the report until the fall because it needed more time to do additional engineering work and community engagement.

COASTAL RAIL TRAIL: Find Lookout’s continuing coverage here

Some of the notable project components that the agency is still figuring out were in focus at a crowded Capitola town hall on Tuesday evening. More than 100 people showed up for a look at everything from the future of the Capitola trestle bridge to mobile home encroachments along the rail line, which lie on both sides of where Segments 10 and 11 of the Coastal Rail Trail are planned. Those segments run from 17th Avenue in Live Oak to State Park Drive in Aptos.

The RTC sent letters to residents of two mobile home parks last year warning that their property encroached on land the agency plans to use for the rail trail project and ordering them to move their homes by this June. The RTC is still aiming to reach a solution to the mobile home encroachments. Transportation planner Grace Blakeslee said the agency is working to coordinate with residents to survey their properties to get a better idea of each encroachment’s placement. 

Meanwhile, another stretch of the rail trail will head to the Capitola City Council in the coming weeks. RTC spokesperson Shannon Munz told Lookout on Wednesday that there is currently no date set for when the matter will be back before the council.

The RTC brought different plans to the Capitola City Council in February for where the segments could run, which envisioned the trail deviating from the rail line in the area and running onto Park Avenue within the city of Capitola. RTC and county staff said a buffered bike lane on the road would be less expensive than one on the coastal side of the tracks, where the trail was initially proposed. In mid-February, the city council delayed a vote on the plan, and requested that the RTC provide more details to residents and local officials before an actual vote.

Working through issues like these are the driving factors behind the project concept report’s delay, said RTC executive director Sarah Christensen, who told Lookout on Tuesday that it was ultimately her decision to push the report’s completion to the fall. 

“I don’t want to rush this, because this is a big project that’s transformative for our community,” she said.

Christensen said that beyond the Capitola holdups, there are still a number of thorny issues that need to be addressed, particularly regarding the trail’s alignment — or possible paths it could take through the county.

Those issues involve Segments 8 and 9, which run from Pacific Avenue near the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf to 17th Avenue and Segment 18 in Watsonville. Segments 8 and 9 will include a separate multi-use structure adjacent to the rail bridge running over the harbor and either repairs to or full replacement of the San Lorenzo River railroad trestle. Segment 18 has three possible options for where the trail could be built. Christensen said that, particularly along Beach Street in Santa Cruz, some parking spots might need to be removed, which means that the City of Santa Cruz will need to be involved in the planning.

Christensen said other big components to address between now and the fall include ridership modeling, cost estimates and possible infrastructure additions or repairs. Next Wednesday at 6 p.m., the RTC is holding a virtual presentation on the various bridges in the county that could require repair, rehabilitation or complete replacement.

“There’s a lot going on and we want to give adequate time for the stakeholders and the community to realize what rail is going to mean,” she said. “It’s going to be a big change.”

Christensen said that the agency’s hopeful 2032 groundbreaking could also be delayed given the scope of work that still needs to happen. Meeting that deadline was always going to be a challenge, she added.

“When you start a project, you have to put together a schedule, and that’s subject to change based on availability of funds and a lot of other factors,” she said. “For us to not put a schedule forward would be pretty weird.” 

Christensen said the funding landscape has changed since the project’s inception, too. Initially, the RTC was pursuing state funding for the rail trail project through California’s state rail assistance program. However, 2021’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which earmarked $1.2 trillion in federal infrastructure spending, including for rail, prompted the state to not release its own rail assistance money.

Then, immediately after returning to office for his second term, President Donald Trump paused funding to IIJA projects. However, Christensen said her agency is still pursuing funding through the federal program, as it “could very well be our best shot at getting our environmental work funded.” She added that the agency still needs $12 to $14 million to complete a required environmental assessment before it can begin construction. If the federal money does not come to fruition, she said, the California government still appears prepared to implement its state rail plan — but with less money.

“It’s going to be more competitive than if we have this big influx of federal money, and it’s going to be harder for us to get our project funded,” she said, adding that after the environmental work is complete, the RTC still needs to complete the project’s final design and acquire rights to use certain parcels of land before breaking ground. 

Christensen also said the agency is going to eventually need to go to the voters with a ballot measure, like a tax measure, to fund operation and maintenance.

And if the federal government does not prioritize the project, there’s no telling how long it might delay passenger rail’s arrival in Santa Cruz County.

“All of this is unknown,” said Christensen. “We just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other.”

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FOR THE RECORD: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that the structural limitation of the Capitola trestle was the reason that the RTC proposed a plan to reroute the trail along Park Avenue. In fact, it was largely due to cost.

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