Your story “Tracks of the Trade” (GT, 2/2) was a good summary of the latest controversy to embroil Greenway and its former director and ongoing figurehead, Manu Koenig.
I was bemused by Koenig’s claim to be a supporter of rail transit because “he previously worked for Germany’s national railway Deutsche Bahn AG.” From the sound of it, you’d think he supports railroads and rail workers.
In truth, during his six-month student internship at Deutsche Bahn in 2007, one of his main projects was a PR campaign attacking striking union rail workers. Past is prologue: he’s continuing his PR work against rail and rail workers today in Santa Cruz County.
Sara Knutsson
Live Oak
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Supervisor Koenig provided an interesting take on his idea of a future train when he spoke at a Rotary Club meeting where rail transit legend Rod Diridon was the keynote speaker.
Video here: https://youtu.be/EdWQAcFDstU
Mr. Koenig seems to think cars are like a train, and if everyone would just buy a smart car and pay to use the highway, well, it would be better than a train.
I respect the Supervisor’s ideas about housing but on transportation, not so much.
It’s time for the RTC to complete repairs on the line and finish the rail trail and to pass the rail transit business plan to bring us clean wireless electric rail transit. http://www.coastfutura.org
Sure, it’s only $60 million to start by fixing infrastructure to even think about a passenger rail system and then an estimated $1 billion for the rest. Remember, the RTC has already realized that most funding would need to be matched locally with a new sales tax (RTC wants to change tax threshold vote to be majority/55% instead of current 2/3s), property tax, increased fees, or otherwise to even think about all this as Measure D does not provide enough funding for this repair and none for new passenger rail. All this for a low passenger use estimate, high fares, unavailable travel times and locations with only two proposed “stations” in Pajaro/Watsonville for the, according to FORT, the beleaguered masses just wanting to work in North County and spend over an hour both ways to leave/arrive to their homes/jobs. This is throwing good money after bad, down a rabbit hole just because a vocal minority wants a choo-choo, or worse yet, a “trolley.”