A new bike path is proposed on Park Avenue in Capitola. (Stephen Baxter — Santa Cruz Local file)

CAPITOLA >> Two months after the Capitola City Council put off a decision to approve a rail trail project on Park Avenue, council members are set to consider the matter again.

At a special city council meeting Thursday, council members are expected to decide whether to allow Santa Cruz County to build part of the bike and pedestrian trail alongside Park Avenue, rather than on the rail corridor several yards over. The county and the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission have proposed the new design to cut costs.

Some Capitola residents have said the idea runs afoul of the 2016 voter initiative Measure L. It directs city staff to maintain the rail corridor for bikers and pedestrians, and forbids the city from spending money to route trail users onto Capitola streets. City staff are scheduled to give a presentation about Measure L at the Thursday meeting.

If the city council doesn’t approve the path on Park Avenue, county staff would likely ask the transportation commission for approval to keep the trail in the rail corridor, city staff wrote in a report.

An option for a new path alongside Park Avenue was shown in February. (Stephen Baxter — Santa Cruz Local file)

The decision about the trail on Park Avenue is separate from any plans for the Capitola Trestle, but it has reignited some residents’ concerns about potential plans to remove the historic structure and replace it with a bridge that can support a passenger rail line and trail. 

Building a trail on the trestle would require a process known as railbanking, which removes the legal obligation to keep the existing freight rails in place. 

Read more

• Santa Cruz Local’s Rail Trail map and updates page.
• Rail trail, highway projects could sap Santa Cruz County transportation money for 20 years — April 4, 2025
• Explainer: Upcoming decisions on the rail trail in Capitola — Feb. 28, 2025
• Trump funding changes could delay Santa Cruz County passenger rail planning for years — Feb. 28, 2025
• Capitola council delays decision on Park Avenue rail trail options — Feb. 14, 2025

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