A new overhead rail line near the Boardwalk and a bridge or tunnel crossing Highway 1 at Cabrillo College are amongst two new proposals that the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) revealed last week at its Watsonville and Live Oak community meetings.
The meetings highlighted transformative plans for public transit along the county’s 32-mile rail line from Watsonville to Santa Cruz. The rail trail was approved in concept by 75 percent of voters two years ago. However, many of the specifics were unknown at that time. The rail line was built in 1876.
The project proposes a single track accommodating a zero-emissions commuter train alongside freight train operations. In 2018 the RTC gave the freight company Progressive Rail a 10-year contract to operate on the tracks.
One of the things some 70 community members learned at a meeting held at the Live Oak Community Center was that the public could petition for quiet zones around housing and schools—however, those zones would absolve the train operators from any damage they cause there.
Trains are required to blow horns before 29 road intersections to warn traffic and pedestrians. However, residents could petition the federal rail agency for so-called quiet zones. These zones, however, would shift liability to the community in the event of an accident.
RTC project manager Riley Gerbrandt said the community has requested 20 station stops along the route and the agency would like to have one train in each direction every hour. However, he said, it might be impossible to maintain that schedule if electric trains stopped at every station.
“We want to work with the community to weigh the pros and cons and finalize station locations, trail alignments, and design considerations,” Gerbrandt said.
Because of the heavy pedestrian and car traffic by the Boardwalk, the RTC is considering an elevated track. The tracks now run along the street in front of the tourist attraction. Trains would make navigation difficult, RTC staff said and would be a hazard for emergency vehicles.
Gerbrandt told audience members that the trail would have to split from the rail in several places in Live Oak, Capitola, Rio Del Mar and South County, including around 41st Avenue and by McGregor Street in Aptos because the area wasn’t wide enough to accommodate both the tracks and a path. At 41st Avenue and around Jade Street Park bikes, wheelchairs and pedestrians would have to navigate along streets. At McGregor the tracks would become a path and new train tracks would have to be built closer to Highway 1.
Cabrillo College President Matthew Wetstein praised the potential rail stop near campus, highlighting its alignment with the college’s planned 271-unit student housing project. “This provides an excellent alternative transportation option for students traveling between Santa Cruz and Watsonville,” he said.
The RTC is currently in the project concept report stage, with further refinements expected in January. Community feedback will continue to be gathered through Dec. 20. Construction is tentatively scheduled following the completion of environmental reviews and design finalizations in 2027.
The rail trail project is partly funded by federal and state grants, including $37.7 million from the Federal Lands Access Program and $13.8 million from Measure D, a local sales tax. The RTC purchased the Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line in 2012 from Union Pacific for $11 million.
Many in the audience were critical of the plan, including residents of a mobile home park who said they would have to move. The RTC will hold a public hearing on Dec. 5 to discuss the project and its potential impact on local communities.
Coastal Trail Conservancy member Jack Brown said the project was “an incredibly poor use of resources” mentioning a lack of cost information.
“On a twelve-foot trail, with six feet each direction, it’s not gonna fit,” Brown said.
Estimates for the project, which would include replacing historic wooden bridges, range in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
