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I know Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley means well, because he has been a rail-line hero in the past. However, his effort to save the Mid County trail by removing the tracks for an interim trail has backfired. During Rob Cunningham’s verbal report to the Regional Transportation Committee in January, he said Caltrans confirmed that removing the tracks would make our county ineligible for critical Federal Railroad Administration funding.
The mayor can act to save the funding by supporting a proposed trail design that keeps the tracks (and funding) while making a smooth and safe surface for bikes and pedestrians.
Please urge Keeley to support this trail design that protects the rails and safeguards rail funding. This is the best option for relieving Highway 1 congestion, which erodes our quality of life and is a major contributor to the climate crisis.
Let’s protect our options for the present and future. History has shown that once the tracks are removed, they never come back.
Susan Kauffman
Santa Cruz
