The most recent two studies selected rail transit as the most beneficial in reducing vehicle miles traveled, VMO, and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The shortest and most reliable travel times are provided by rail operating without traffic on the exisiting rail line. Voters should check the RTC pages for the facts.

You go on to proclaim that “highest and best use” is of “property that is physically possible, appropriately supported, and financially feasible and that results in the highest value.”

A realtor or developer’s mindest is that value comes with a dollar sign, but modern planners balance Environmental benefit and Equity with Economics and using the 3-Es criteria, aka 3-P (people, planet, prosperity), the rail transit with trail has been proven to provide the very highest return on investment.

No major transit improvement can possibly be accomplished over the stretch between Watsonville and Santa Cruz sooner and with less effort than simply improving the existing active railroad. Service could begin within a few years over parts of the line, a full system operational in 5 or 6 years IF our county commits to it and Greenway gets out of the way. And the trail will be built at the same time, and sooner than any Trail Only plan.

Everyone should plan to take a ride on the Coast Futura next month, http://www.coastfutura.org to get a taste of what we would be throwing away if we don’t act soon to follow the science and the studies and the funding that all leads to a connected bus and rail transit network, with trails!

Eighteen miles of projects are in various stages of development and have been funded in full or in part.

Rail transit has been arrived at by a scrupulous technical and democratic process, methodically ascertaining the “best & highest use” and all that is necessary to continue forward with ‘Monterey Bay Scenic Sanctuary Coastal Rail Trail.’ It’s from our transportation commission and their highly vetted specialists, analysts, and engineers.

Our community supports what our functioning governmental agencies have arrived at by these professional infrastructure transportation engineering experts:
*Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission;
*California Coastal Commission;
*Department of Transportation – Division of Rail & Mass Transportation;
*Transportation Agency for Monterey County (TAMC);
*Association of Monterey Bay Governments: Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz Counties (AMBAG);
*Climate Action Plan for Transportation Infrastructure (CAPTI);
*Caltrans: Division of Rail & Mass Transportation;
*Interagency Technical Advisory Committee;
and others.

It should be noted this past April 2021 Watsonville’s City Council unanimously voted YES fund 5 more years of Coastal Rail Trail. Our Watsonville community is empathetic with their messaging to north county residents…don’t forget us. This is a social justice and an equity issue.

Right now the Watsonville Pajaro Train Station is being renovated and connects to Salinas and Gilroy then onto the rest of the State Rail Plan. Caltrans has offered their strong financial support for rail transit.

Most people driving Highway 1 are essential workers. As the service industry ramps up, this is only going to get worse. The number one concern of most people in this county is traffic. This is the only project in the county that will create an alternative way to travel North/South in the County that is desperately needed for essential workers. Voting against this project is telling South County essential workers that their time, sacrifice and work is not valuable and creates transportation redlining in our county.

A bike trail doesn’t provide equity to south county. The truth is that a trail only and removal of the transit option would have the same effect as a giant border wall.

According to Pew Research in 2019, “Americans who are lower-income, black or Hispanic, immigrants or people under 50 are especially likely to use public transportation on a regular basis.”

There is no benefit to pausing this project, in fact pausing further threatens our ability to bring home federal dollars in the upcoming infrastructure bill. There is no other project that will have this big an impact on our County. Investing in public transportation is good for small businesses at each stop.

They destroyed the rail between Santa Cruz and San Jose once Highway 17 was widened. Now we all wish we had those rails back. Traffic on 17 is a nightmare during commute times. And we all know what Highway One is like. Everyone tries to avoid it much of the day. Rail in Santa Cruz is planned to connect down to Monterey. And it is planned to connect over to San Jose by way of Watsonville to Gilroy. If we go along with the plan to rip out the rails, we’ll be an isolated community even worse than we are now.

What makes sense is keeping rails you already have and putting them to use. It makes sense now, and the case only gets stronger as more times passes. What doesn’t make sense is the way you wave the rails away as though restoring them will be effortless in some unspecified future. We need what they can do now. Ebikes will not save you. Healthy exercise is not enough.

I’ve seen our county grow, and our transportation options fail to grow to meet the demand of the burgeoning population. The failure to meet transportation needs are always due to cost…yes, even roads and highways are subsidized by taxpayers! Our real estate here is some of the most expensive in the nation.

Another factor besides cost of real estate that pauses consideration of road/highway widening is geography. A particular example preventing highway widening is a nearly mile long section of highway 1 through Aptos, wherein the highway is a bridge crossing over Spreckels Drive. This has been referred to as “The Aptos Strangler” by Jarrett Walker, transit consultant and author.

The most urgent factor to support Rail & Trail on our Rail Corridor (Which was acquired by our RTC in 2012 with the objective of increasing transportation options and opportunities, including high-capacity public transit in conjunction with bicycle & Pedestrian path) is the ability to increase our transit options without increasing & perhaps decreasing greenhouse gases.

We have arrived at the age of quiet electric streetcars that offer level boarding, room for bicycles & wheelchairs, do not require “train stations” but instead stops like our bus system, and will be able to travel the 32 mile rail corridor between Pajaro and Davenport without being stuck in traffic. The rail corridor is within 1 mile of more than 80 parks, 25 schools, half the county population, runs parallel to the Hwy 1 corridor, and connects to regional and state rail lines. There is room on the (average width) corridor for an adjacent 12′ wide trail, and since bikes can be rolled aboard the streetcars it’s a great transit option for many.

As a senior citizen, I am aware of the transportation and recreation benefits that the Rail & Trail will bring to the many seniors who live in facilities and senior housing, much of which is in close proximity to our rail corridor. Having used electric trams in my travels, I can vouch for the transportation freedom and ease of travel that they offer us.

It is very concerning that Greenway and Trail Now are pushing to have mention of any rail transit option removed from our General Plan, and that they are also plugging “trail only” with no rail service, and possible abandonment of our rails!

Easement access along the corridor is specifically established for rail service. If the rail were abandoned/removed, adjacent landowners will certainly initiate litigation to require return of the easement properties to the initial grantor parcels. This would begin years of expensive litigation, eminent domain procedures, and will put the public access to the corridor at risk.

We are building portions of the trail now, leaving the rails, with possibilities of light electric rail transit open for the future. Let’s move forward into the future with Rail and Trail on our corridor.

If we want to tax ourselves and add local rail to these services, the we can hold a local referendum. If we keep the rail for future use, we can have service as early as 2022, according to the CalTrain business plan. I think it would be foolish to turn down this offer.

Providing an equitable solution with rail and trail is a must. It will allow for folks to travel quicker during the rainy weather without having to worry about foggy weather fender benders.

By seeking grants we will be able to support and maintain our rail trail system for future generations.

The observation was made that “Passenger rail, on the other hand, would be used by, at most, a few thousand riders per day and would only be practical for about 50% of the county’s population to ever consider using for transportation.” The fact that half the county could make use of it isn’t enough? Or is the real question which half? Being able to get to work, shop, and obtain services without having to need a car for everything would be a real boost for some people. It would also be a plus for seniors and the diferently abled.

Taking several thousand cars off the roads and needing that many fewer parking spaces is not a small gain – especially at peak traffic hours. Keeping the line available for freight service is also something to keep in mind. Rails can take trucks off the roads, cutting pollution and traffic congestion. County economic development plans should factor in keeping rail available for attracting businesses looking to reduce their carbon footprint and meet specific needs. The transload business is something to encourage, making the transfer of freight between trucks and trains convenient and affordable.

It’s also about more than just transportation. A reliable, safe, and frequent transit option can spark transit-oriented development, stimulating sustainable economic development along the corridor. It would give people an alternative to car culture. That can be a big plus for real estate values.

The trail-only option has two basic flaws. It too will never pay for itself, and its contribution to solving the county’s transportation problems will be miniscule at best. Combining rail with trail will be a force multiplier – leveraging the advantages of both. More bang for the buck in other words.

There’s one more big reason to support rail transportation: energy efficiency. Steel wheels rolling on steel rails need a fraction of the energy needed to roll rubber tires on pavement. Electric cars are being promoted to reduce greenhouse gas emissions – and rightly so. Transportation is where a third of US greenhouse gas emissions come from. But… if they are not powered by clean energy, they’re not really solving the problem. Clean renewables like wind and solar can address that – but you need 3-4 times as much capacity to match what rail can do. The Netherlands buys enough wind power to operate its passenger rail network; it can be done.

The cost of investing in rail is nothing compared to the cost of not making that investment. What we’ve been doing for transportation is no longer working. We need what rail can do.

The cost for implementation is as yet unknown because of the current impasse but next steps would permit investigation of more affordable option that have yet to be done, all earlier studies having considered larger heavier types of rail vehicles. In fact, it wasn’t until this year that the RTC included the streetcar among options.

Fortunately, the community will have a chance soon to “test drive” an example of clean battery powered transit. Learn more about the project at http://www.coastfutura.org

And remember: we’re building the trail now, we’re keeping the tracks, and rail plus connected Metro plus trails will create a robust transit and mobility network that hasn’t existed here in 100 years.