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You are here: Home / Archives for greenway

greenway

Santa Cruz Greenway Looking to Capitola

April 28, 2018 by Seb Frey

Greenway Looks at Capitola

An indication of its popularity and momentum, Santa Cruz County Greenway is looking to Capitola, which is a key section of the Santa Cruz County Branch Line Rail Corridor.  Greenway Capitola, a local transportation advocacy organization, is sponsoring a 2018 City of Capitola ballot initiative which aims to preserve and utilize the rail corridor and trestle for active transportation and recreation in the City of Capitola. The group is currently gathering paper signatures from Capitola registered voters.

To help educate the public about the ballot initiative and the rail corridor, Greenway is inviting the public for a short talk and question-and-answer session on Wednesday, May 2, from 7:00 to 8:30 pm at the Jade St. Community Center (4400 Jade Street, Capitola, California 95010).  Attendees are encouraged to come early to meet near the tracks behind the Jade Street Park baseball field at 6 pm for a brief rail walk prior to the Q&A session at 7.

Greenway would like your help to spread the word – check out and share the event on Facebook.

Not able to make it to the meeting and trail walk on May 72?  Then please join Greenway for a second walk at 10 am on Saturday, May 5th, meeting again behind the Jade Street Park baseball field.

Also, community members who are concerned with the future use of the rail corridor are also encouraged to attend the next SCCRTC (Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission) meeting at 9 AM Thursday, May 3 at Capitola City Hall to share your thoughts in an oral comment at the start of the meeting.  It’s important that everyone on the RTC understand how vital the future use of the rail corridor is to the community.

Related Posts On AptosCommunityNews

  • Initiative Requiring Voter Approval for Santa Cruz Passenger Rail (November 18, 2019)
  • Unified Corridor Investment Study Released, Workshops Planned (September 29, 2018)
  • Audio and Video from Aptos Greenway Presentation (February 24, 2018)
  • Santa Cruz Greenway Aptos Presentation (February 19, 2018)
  • The Trouble with Santa Cruz Passenger Rail (July 19, 2014)

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Filed Under: Events, Lifestyle, News, Parks and Recreation Tagged With: greenway, rail corridor

Audio and Video from Aptos Greenway Presentation

February 24, 2018 by Seb Frey

On Thursday, February 22 2018, Santa Cruz Greenway held a public presentation of their vision for the Santa Cruz Branch Line Rail Corridor at the Community Foundation of Santa Cruz. The event was well-attended, with a number of people forced to stand as every chair was full. The presentation and questions and answers afterward lasted about an hour.

Santa Cruz Greenway’s vision for the rail corridor is that it should be used as a pedestrian and bicycle path only, and that the existing train tracks should be removed. This is a different vision from the Monterey Bay Sanctuary Scenic Trail (MBSST) plan currently being implemented by the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (SCCRTC), which envisions a narrower trail running alongside the train tracks.

Segment 7 of the MBSST is already under construction in the city of Santa Cruz, with the railroad tracks kept in place and the trail being built off to the side.  As discussed in the presentation, construction has already hit a significant snag and the cost estimates are three times higher than what was initially forecast – and this is was seen as one of the easiest segments to build.

It is telling that the construction of the MBSST is on-going while the Unified Corridor Investment Study, which is supposed to determine the best use of the rail corridor, has yet to be completed.  It is perhaps not surprising that the SCCRTC is pressing forward with rail and trail before the study is finished.  As Greenway discussed in their presentation, the SCCRTC is funded by the California Transportation Commission, which is heavily pushing rail systems throughout the state.  This helps to explain why staff at the SCCRTC have promoted a pro-rail agenda in the face of widespread popular opposition to it.

The Imaginary Rail Trail Fence
An actual S.M.A.R.T. train fence in Sonoma

The Greenway presentation showed a picture used by the Friends of the Rail and Trail (FORT), which depicts people using the trail alongside a simple wooden fence separating them from the tracks.  Greenway called this “fake news,” because what’s being shown in the image is nothing like what the actual rail-with-trail will look like.  In the image, the fence is shown being only a foot or so from the edge of the tracks.  In reality, the the fence must be eight feet back from he center line of the track, which would put the fence right in the middle of the trail shown on their picture.  Additionally, the fence would not be a simple wooden fence – it would be a tall steel fence, such as the one used by the new SMART train system serving Marin and Sonoma.

The presentation was chock full of information that Aptos residents need to know about what’s being proposed for the rail corridor.  Please take the time to watch the video – or, if you don’t want to sit in front of an electronic device for an hour, please listen to the audio recording which has been posted to the Bay to Bay Podcast, and is provided here for your listening pleasure.

https://baytobaypodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/episode10-greenway-presentation-aptos-february-2018.mp3

Courtesy of the Bay to Bay Podcast

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Filed Under: News Tagged With: greenway, Rail Trail

Santa Cruz Greenway Aptos Presentation

February 19, 2018 by Seb Frey

Santa Cruz County Grenway

By now, you’ve probably heard about the great controversy surrounding the future of the Santa Cruz Branch Line Rail Corridor. There are competing visions for the future use of the corridor, with a number of ideas being debated in the public space. One leading vision for the rail corridor is being championed by Santa Cruz Greenway: a “trail only” use, where the existing tracks are removed and replaced with a wide trail designed primarily for pedestrian and bicycle use.

Santa Cruz County Greenway has been making presentations around the county for some time, and now they’re doing a presentation in Aptos. Greenway is hosting a meeting to help the Aptos Community learn why a train won’t help Aptos, but a trail will. Their goal is to fill the room with newcomers to the conversation and people who want to better understand our options for the corridor.

A recent meeting in the Capitola City Council Chambers on the future of the rail corridor was standing room only, which shows the intense interest the community has in the future of this priceless asset. Please plan to attend if you want to learn more and/or help spread the word to friends and neighbors who are new to the conversation or undecided on the issue:

7-8 PM, Thursday, February 22nd 2018
at Community Foundation Santa Cruz County
7807 Soquel Drive, Aptos, CA 95003

Santa Cruz County Greenway will also be holding a short informational track walk!

10 AM, Saturday, February 24th 2018
meet at the railroad tracks by 790 Estates Dr. (off McGregor Dr.)

Both of these events are sure to be informative and enjoyable and it’s a great way to get out, meet some of your neighbors, and become more engaged in the future of our community. We hope to see you there!

Related Posts On AptosCommunityNews

  • Write to the RTC on the Rail Corridor (April 27, 2020)
  • Initiative Requiring Voter Approval for Santa Cruz Passenger Rail (November 18, 2019)
  • Audio and Video from Aptos Greenway Presentation (February 24, 2018)
  • Capitola City Council Considers Rail, Trail Options (January 14, 2018)
  • Zach Friend Interview: Passenger Train and Rail Trail (March 31, 2016)
  • TrailNow Presentation Video (March 5, 2016)
  • Rail Trail Debate Rages on (November 16, 2015)
  • Passenger Rail Opponents Meet on Thursday (September 15, 2015)
  • Ellen Pirie Talks Aptos Village, Rail Corridor (May 8, 2015)
  • Alternatives to Passenger Rail Service in Santa Cruz (July 24, 2014)
  • RTC Passenger Rail Study Workshop July 17 (July 15, 2014)
  • Rail Trail Faces June 4 Deadline (May 30, 2014)
  • Sanctuary Trail Plan (November 17, 2013)

Read a good book lately?

The Sold Book
Get My Book Today!

If you have some room on your reading list, I invite you to read my book Get It Sold! Now in its Second Edition! It's an easy read (just 145 pages!) and it tells you everything you need to know about selling your home quickly, easily, and at absolute peak pricing. I'll send it to you for free - no shipping charge either!

OK Send me a Copy!

Filed Under: Events, News Tagged With: greenway, rail corridor, Rail Trail

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