Aptos Village project not without its protesters

The Aptos Village development project in Santa Cruz County is underway in the heart of the city.

Some of the construction at Aptos Village is making for some minor traffic delays for commuters. There was one person out there who spent her day holding up signs in protest of all the work.

“Spending $2 million at a time when Valencia Road is closed that has caused the Valencia Elementary School to close and students be farmed out all over the place is ludicrous,” said Becky Steinbruner, an Aptos resident who is against the project.

Steinbruner argues the traffic in that area is already gridlocked. She says the development will bring in at least 8,000 cars a day, citing the numbers the department of public works put in to get a grant for the improvements.

“The traffic is a nightmare now, it’s going to be worse when all this is done,” she said.

Crew were out busy putting in the effort into completing the project. They are making progress on new roadways and buildings. They have moved the old apple barn as well.

“The overall timeline is about a year for the first group of buildings. And then as we add buildings in, the overall project will probably take a total of two years or just a little bit more than that, all said and done,” said Keith Henderson, the senior project manager.

The project has been over a decade in the making. It will add new restaurant, small shops and areas for neighborhood events to Aptos.

“We’re really excited about this project, really. We’re hoping for a lot of growth,” said Claudia Demaranville, a business owner in the Aptos Village area. “If you look around, I mean (new buildings) totally brought vitality back into our village. And I think that’s what’s going to happen with the downtown. It’s going to give it a heart.”

The Aptos Chamber of Commerce says it supports the project. It hopes the new Aptos Village can be a viable center for residents and visitors.

The chamber also says the two shopping centers at each freeway exit in town make bypassing Aptos Village easy. They hope when the project is completed, it will draw more people into the village area.