Quick Take
Measure L is causing a lot of consternation in Capitola, as city councilmembers look to vote Thursday on whether the bike trail will stay in the rail corridor or be rerouted onto Park Avenue. Here, local activist Peter Gibson reminds us of the language of L and the legal analysis the city has done on it. He believes Measure L, which passed by a narrow margin in 2018, should not prevent the city council from approving the realignment of the trail along Park Avenue and will provide a safer alternative for pedestrians and cyclists.
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Gail Ortiz wrote an op-ed in which she opines that “Capitola voters passed Measure L to ensure that the Monterey Bay Sanctuary Scenic Trail (MBSST) would stay in the rail corridor and not be rerouted onto Capitol streets.” This point needs clarification.
First, the MBSST, released in 2013, said the following about the Capitola trestle:
“Coastal trail access through [the rail corridor in Capitola] will need to continue on existing surface streets and sidewalks to cross Soquel Creek and navigate through Capitola Village. Future plans for the rail trestle replacement should include a new bike/pedestrian facility in the bridge design.”
On April 9, 2015, the Capitola City Council voted 4-1 to adopt the MBSST Master Plan, especially the part that pertains to Capitola.
Second, on Nov. 6, 2018, 2,526 (52%) of Capitola voters voted for Measure L, which was supported by Greenway Capitola, while 2,320 (48%) of the votes were against Measure L. This is hardly an overwhelming mandate. However, prior to the November election, the Capitola city attorney issued an impartial legal analysis to the city council that said:
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“[Measure L] expressly does not amend or rescind the General Plan, Local Coastal Program or Zoning Code, but rather states that it “shall be construed and harmonized in a manner to strengthen and define such provisions. The measure, it says, “raises a number of legal concerns, including: First, whether it proposes a legislative act, or merely directs administrative or executive actions, which are generally not subject to initiative or referendum. Second, whether the measure’s terms are too vaguely defined and ambiguous to be enforceable. Third, whether its restrictions on expenditure of funds improperly interfere with the city council’s authority over the City’s fiscal affairs. For these reasons the measure may be vulnerable to a legal challenge as to its validity.”
Finally, the realignment of the trail along Park Avenue will come at no cost to the city and will provide a safer alternative for pedestrians and cyclists than what is currently there on that road, or what could be built along the corridor. It offers a consistent 12-foot-wide elevated trail along Park Avenue, where the trail on the corridor would start off as 8½ feet wide and then broaden out to 12 feet wide. And even if the RTC trail is built in the corridor, people will still use the current Park Avenue trail, which is narrow and unsafe.
Measure L was and remains a yoke around the neck of the Capitola City Council, which contradicts its earlier commitment to the MBSST. Measure L, which passed by a narrow margin, should not prevent the city council from approving a common-sense approach to transit.
There are already bike lanes through Capitola Village. Why not make them safer?
Peter Gibson is a retired software engineer who lives in Soquel.