Segment 7, Phase 2 of the Coastal Rail Trail is short, but the section on Santa Cruz’s Westside came with a number of difficulties that caused several delays. Its completion creates a continuous path that runs from Natural Bridges State Beach all the way to the roundabout by the wharf. The city will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday morning.
Carmageddon
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Carmageddon: Santa Cruz County’s season of roadwork is underway for the next six months
Santa Cruz County has begun its annual road maintenance program, aiming to repair and rehabilitate roads before the winter, while also conducting drain maintenance and vegetation management to prevent flooding and further road damage. The work is split into three phases, and will last until the fall.
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Carmageddon: Passenger rail, rural highways in focus at community meetings this month
Several community meetings this month will focus on Coastal Rail Trail and passenger rail developments in Santa Cruz and Watsonville as well as rural highway safety as the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission moves forward with exploring ways to improve safety on rural roads.
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Carmageddon: West Cliff Drive to reopen both ways in June as city explores relocating a stretch of the road
The City of Santa Cruz is working toward an end-of-June reopening for two-way traffic along West Cliff Drive as it progresses through the final steps of armoring and stabilization for the battered road. Concurrently, the city is working with a design team to begin moving forward on relocating the roadway near Lighthouse Field.
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Carmageddon: How does Capitola City Council’s vote change rail trail plan?
Following the Capitola City Council’s vote against constructing a trail alongside Park Avenue, the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission and county planners will have to pursue a previously approved — but more expensive — trail alignment. Although much remains the same for the trail plans in the Capitola area, county and RTC staff will need to work with city staff to understand the exact implications of the council’s interpretation of city law.
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Carmageddon: Special meeting could see Capitola City Council approve Park Avenue trail option
At a special meeting Thursday, the Capitola City Council will weigh a pair of options for the Coastal Rail Trail along Park Avenue between Capitola Village and the Cliffwood Heights neighborhood.
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Carmageddon: As transit project costs soar, RTC mulls borrowing against Measure D tax revenue
Facing rising costs for projects like the Highway 1 expansion and the Coastal Rail Trail, transit officials in Santa Cruz County are eyeing bond financing against future Measure D transportation tax revenues. Some commissioners have raised concerns about the long-term cost to overall project budgets.
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Carmageddon: Capitola rail trail issues, passenger rail plans back in focus at public meetings this week
Two more Coastal Rail Trail and passenger rail information sessions are coming up this week. The first focuses on the Santa Cruz County passenger rail project as a whole, while the second focuses on issues specific to Capitola, including a heavily debated section of trail that the Capitola City Council delayed a vote on in mid-February.
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Carmageddon: Work, erosion continues on West Cliff Drive as next 5 years begin to take shape
The City of Santa Cruz is preparing to begin work on several projects along West Cliff Drive as early as this year, now that the city council has officially approved the road’s five-year roadmap. Meanwhile, more erosion is manifesting in an area that was already closed for about 18 months following the 2023 storms.
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Carmageddon: Murray Street Bridge retrofit project begins next Monday. Here’s what the current schedule looks like
The long-awaited Murray Street Bridge project will break ground next Monday, March 24, bringing significant traffic impacts to the crosstown artery. Here is the plan and schedule thus far.