The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) is inviting the community to provide input on how it will invest voter-approved revenue from Measure D, a transportation improvement tax that was approved by voters in 2016 to provide funds for highway, trail, rail, bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure and transit programs in Santa Cruz County.
The RTC is responsible for allocating funds from it and for preparing a strategic implementation plan for projects and programs along Highway 1, the Coastal Rail Trail-Monterey Bay Sanctuary Scenic Trail Network, the rail corridor, the San Lorenzo Valley Highway 9 Corridor and the Highway 17 Wildlife Crossing. Draft five-year plans are online at www.sccrtc.org/measureD.
Members of the public can provide comments in person to the RTC board during a public hearing on Thursday, Nov. 7, at 9:30 a.m. at the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors Chamber, 701 Ocean St., Room 525, Santa Cruz, and via Zoom (login link). The meeting will also be broadcast on Community TV. Staff reports and meeting details are available in the meeting agenda. The deadline to submit written comments by email to info@sccrtc.org is 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 6.
The RTC proposes to use Measure D revenues to leverage state and federal grants and deliver the following ongoing regional projects. No new projects are proposed this year:
- Highway 1: Auxiliary lanes linking on- and-off ramps and bus-on-shoulder facilities between Soquel Avenue and Freedom Boulevard and new bicycle/pedestrian bridges over the freeway.
- Coastal Rail Trail: Bicycle/pedestrian trail between Davenport and Watsonville, and corridor maintenance. Proposing to advance delivery of Segment 18, Phase 2 (Watsonville).
- Rail corridor: Rail preservation and environmental study of zero-emission passenger rail.
- San Lorenzo Valley/Highway 9: Improvements at the elementary/middle/high school complex in Felton, sidewalks through downtown Boulder Creek and other projects identified in the Highway 9/San Lorenzo Valley (SLV) Complete Streets Corridor Plan.
Measure D is a 30-year, half-cent local sales tax that went into effect in April 2017.
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