Quick Take
A section of coastal bluff near Getchell Street crumbled onto the shore beneath it on Saturday. Although the pedestrian path is expected to remain open, Santa Cruz officials are monitoring the area and will implement more safety measures if needed.
Although West Cliff Drive fared mostly well in 2025, the new year started off making up for lost time, apparently.
On Saturday, Santa Cruz city staff had to head to the area of the scenic coastal road near the Getchell Street intersection, just west of Fair Avenue, where a chunk of coastal bluff crumbled and fell to the shore below as rain, wind and rough waters hit the county for the second week in a row.
WEST CLIFF DRIVE: Read more Lookout coverage here
City staff promptly set up a line of orange, water-filled barriers at the edge of the pedestrian walkway to create a buffer between the eroded cliffside and the cyclists and pedestrians traveling along the path. There were no injuries reported.
Ashley Hussey, spokesperson for the City of Santa Cruz’s public works department, said in a statement to Lookout that pedestrian and bike access along the path is still open and unaffected at this time, and that the city is currently not planning a full closure. However, if conditions change, the city will adjust access accordingly following further evaluation.
Hussey added that a preliminary look at the collapse appears to show that continuous coastal erosion is the main culprit, something that the popular oceanside road has become increasingly accustomed to over the past few years.
The latest cliff collapse comes as public works is planning to move forward with a number of projects related to coastal erosion along West Cliff Drive in 2026. One is a study of the Lighthouse Point area, which the department hopes to bring to the city council sometime this spring. That area has a sea cave extending beneath its west side, and the study will consider various options the city has for managing coastal erosion in that spot. Staff are planning to use a study from the 1980s as a model and update it with the current understanding of the combined threat of coastal erosion and climate change.
Additionally, the department is continuing work on relocating a 400-foot stretch of the road and pedestrian path about 50 feet inland into a portion of Lighthouse Field State Beach. It’s something of a test for “managed retreat,” a strategy to relocate community infrastructure away from coastlines and other environmentally sensitive areas. Public works is also aiming to bring a design for the project to the city’s Transportation and Public Works Commission sometime this spring.
The city will provide updates regarding the latest collapse near Getchell Street as needed. In the meantime, it is encouraging members of the public to keep their distance from the barricades and stay away from coastal edges.
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