CA: Santa Cruz County RTC hosting May workshops for high-profile projects

A Santa Cruz County transportation agency has planned a series of workshops this month to answer community questions about a couple of high-profile projects it has in the works.

The county Regional Transportation Commission will host a series of workshops and information sessions homing in on its Zero Emission Passenger Rail and Trail Project as well as the North Coast Transportation Demand Management Plan.

The passenger rail and trail workshops will take place in Watsonville and Santa Cruz next week, while the North Coast event will occur online and has been set for the end of the month.

The Watsonville session will happen from 6-7:30 p.m. Monday inside the community room in Civic Plaza at 275 Main St. on the 4th floor. For this session, information on the proposed rail and trail alignments as well as downtown Watsonville station location options will be detailed.

The Santa Cruz event has been planned for 6-7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the London Nelson Community Center at 301 Center St. Topics of interest for this event include the Beach Street rail and trail alignment alternatives, traffic patterns in the Beach Flats neighborhood as well as grade crossings along the proposed West Side alignment.

Both workshops will begin with a brief presentation from commission staff at 6:15 p.m. before turning into an open house format where attendees can visit interactive stations to learn about specific areas of interest and provide the commission with feedback.

The project concept report for the 22-mile zero emission project is expected to be released to the community next month, according to a release from the commission.

North Coast

The commission’s North Coast Transportation Demand Management Plan is aimed at managing travel demand and expanding sustainable options along a 22-mile stretch of rural Highway 1, starting at the northern tip of the Santa Cruz city limit and extending to the Santa Cruz- San Mateo county line.

According to the commission, transportation alternatives are currently limited, and because visitor demand often exceeds available parking, congestion and safety issues have cropped up throughout the stretch of coastal highway.

The virtual workshop will happen from 5:30-7 p.m. May 29 over Zoom. The workshop’s link is at us02web.zoom.us/j/85207556124.

Workshop attendees will have the chance to share their experiences traveling the corridor and give input on strategies to reduce traffic, improve safety and expand transportation choices.

Those with questions can contact the commission’s North Coast project manager Max Friedman at [email protected] and include “North Coast TDM” in the subject line.

If you go:

• What: Santa Cruz County RTC project workshops for Zero Emission Passenger Rail and Trail Project and North Coast planning.
• When: Zero emission workshops set for Monday, Wednesday. North Coast happening May 29.
• How: Location information available at sccrtc.org.

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