Passenger rail could run above Beach Street at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk or at street level. (Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission)

Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission staff held the meeting at the London Nelson Community Center with about 70 participants. A roughly 22-mile passenger rail line is being planned separately from a 32-mile Coastal Rail Trail that is in various stages of planning and construction from Davenport to Watsonville. 

Transportation staff asked for feedback on the passenger rail plans ahead of a draft concept report due at the regional transportation commission’s June 12 meeting. Input can be sent to [email protected] or [email protected].

Wednesday’s presentation and open house tried to better convey plans that were first presented in the fall because many people had trouble visualizing them, transportation commission staff said.

“We had maps that showed where the alignment went, but people found it really challenging to understand what that would physically mean in representation,” said Riley Gerbrandt, project manager for the Zero Emission Passenger Rail and Trail. “So our work was fleshing that out more.” 

A passenger rail station could be built near Natural Bridges Drive or near Depot Park. (Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission)

The presentation included:

• A potential Westside train depot on the rail corridor between Swift Street and Natural Bridges Drive. A train depot there could include “transit oriented development” like housing, shops or commercial space. 
• A map of 13 Westside railroad track street crossings and safety infrastructure. 
• A map showing a change from two lanes to one on the west end of Beach Street near the roundabout.
• Four possible alignments for the rail line on Beach Street with two at street level and two elevated by a supporting structure adjacent to the street.

The images of Beach Street were from a “bird’s eye view, and also what it looks like if you were standing on the street,” Gerbrandt said.

Passenger rail could run at street level on Beach Street at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. (Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission)

Passenger rail could run above Beach Street at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. (Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission) 

A rendering shows a crossing for street-level passenger rail near the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. (Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission)

Santa Cruz Transportation Manager Matthew Starkey said that feedback on the maps shown at Wednesday’s event should be emailed to the RTC. Comments will be reviewed by city officials and other stakeholders.

“Where should the end of the line be? That’s a really big question. And then two, how are we going to deal with the beach area? That’s going to require some big changes to how traffic circulation works in the beach area,” Starkey said.

Many people at Wednesday’s meeting agreed that there’s room for improvement for beach area traffic, which “doesn’t come as a surprise to anyone who’s trying to get there in the summer,” said Starkey. There was also interest in the new technologies suggested in the plans.

Gerbrandt, of the RTC, said, “Behind the scenes, there’s a lot of work being done with stakeholders, our partners, with cities and the county to understand these challenges and how we’re going to address them. Because every one of those partners or stakeholders has things that are important to them.”

The final concept report is expected to finish in the fall, which will be the culmination of the planning process from which the RTC and the community will determine next steps for funding or satisfying the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA.

A CEQA environmental review “process could be kicked off, or we could do kind of bits and pieces of things to get ready for that if we wanted to take it at a more measured approach,” said Gerbrandt.

“There’s going to be a whole new round of outreach as the project concept report comes out as well, so people can get on our mailing list from that project website and they can get an update on the project progress and the upcoming events,” Gerbrandt said.

A separate meeting Monday presented updates to the Watsonville and Pajaro passenger rail plans.

Riley Gerbrandt, project manager of the Zero Emission Passenger Rail and Trail, discusses a map of a proposed passenger rail line at a meeting Wednesday at London Nelson Community Center in Santa Cruz. (Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission)

About 70 people attended Wednesday’s meeting. (Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission)

Residents ask questions to staff of the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission on Wednesday. (Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission)

Passenger rail is being planned on 22 miles of the Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line. (Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission)

There are advantages and disadvantages of a train depot at Depot Park or Natural Bridges Drive in Santa Cruz. (Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission)

Questions or comments? Email [email protected]. Santa Cruz Local is supported by members, major donors, sponsors and grants for the general support of our newsroom. Our news judgments are made independently and not on the basis of donor support. Learn more about Santa Cruz Local and how we are funded.