Scotts Valley City Council Votes to Support Greenway Project
The Scotts Valley City Council has announced its support for the new Greenway Trail Project in Santa Cruz County.
The heavily-discussed project still has a ways to go. The biking and pedestrian path would run 32-miles along the coast from Davenport to Pajaro. It would take the place of the current railway that runs through the county.
While the trail is one option, their is also discussion of a Rail and Trail Project. This would include the trail alongside a rail way corridor that would eventually be a new for of transportation for residents and visitors.
Scotts Valley City Council member Randy Johnson says, “We’re always open to more information, but at this time, especially because of the cost factor, we felt that this was the best way to go.”
Johnson says Rail ways usually do not live up to expectations, “rail lines have a tendency to over promise and underperform. They have a tendency to overstate ridership for example but understate just what it actually costs and that’s a huge problem once you start getting invested, because once you start getting invested there’s no real turning around.”
The trail portion is already paid for by Measure D which alots that tax to trail projects. He says adding another form of transportation could lead to more taxes. “We feel that any other option requires our people, our citizens, to tax themselves and it could be a huge burden for them to come up with. For example, another half cent sales tax or something. We have other priorities
in this city,” says Johnson.
But Friends of the Rail and Trail, a pro-Rail/Trail group, say there might be more funding coming this way. “CALTRANS just released the 2018 statewide rail plan and they are describing 132 billion dollars to create a connected statewide rail network and the Santa Cruz branch rail line is included in their maps and their vision,” says Barry Scott with Friends of the Rail and Trail.
Coming up on January 11th there will be a Capitola City Council meeting at 7pm. The Greenway Project and Friends of the Rail and Trail will both present their opposing sides.
