Streetcar controversy with demoed electric light rail vehicle in Santa Cruz County

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION) If you live in Santa Cruz or Watsonville, you probably saw the Coast Futura streetcar make its debut down the train tracks in October, which sparked some curiosity and controversy.  

“The demonstration was an opportunity for us to show the community what is possible using this real system,” Lani Faulkner, Equity Transit.   

The rail demonstration generated excitement and many positive responses from passengers and onlookers. The single streetcar ran on the Santa Cruz Branch Rail in the two cities. The electric light rail vehicle was manufactured by California-based TIG/m,  it traveled about 433 miles and carried around 2100 passengers at the time. Each car can hold up to 100 people. 

“ Peak hours you can put three cars together than during a low time when there isn’t as much need for it then you can uncouple,”  Faulkner.

Faulkner says the streetcar was a hit with students, the elderly, and people in the disabled community. As well as those looking for a car-free commute. 

“It’s an equitable form of transportation because it allows regular transportation from Watsonville to Santa Cruz and back, so people who need regular transpiration can access it every 20 minutes or every 30 minutes,” Faulkner. 

Though Coast Futura would add an additional means of transportation to Santa Cruz county, not everybody is on board. One of the reasons, there are still upgrades needed to the rails, bridges, and railroad crossings.

“There are tens of millions of dollars of repairs that need to be done on the tracks,” Jack Brown, Community Volunteer for Greenway. 
"We don't really have the population density that could support a train financially."

Jack Brown is a volunteer with Greenway, a group that would like to see more bicycle and pedestrian paths where the tracks currently stretch. Brown says there are many in the Santa Cruz area who strongly oppose the electric streetcar project, and says the TIG/M streetcars are a false impression of what is actually available. 

"They run at speeds of anywhere from four to eight miles per hour on average. Yet they claim that they can, you know, run 15 hours a day at 50 miles per hour speeds. They just don't have a track record behind it,” Brown.  

Currently, the organization is collecting signatures for a voter initiative in June of 2022, for the Greenway paths over the light rail. As of last week, they had 9,000 of the 12,000 needed. 

"People have the impression that it's going to magically reduce traffic on Highway 1. Yet, when you look at the studies and you actually ask some of the people that are rail enthusiasts, they're saying, No, not really. It'll be like a one percent difference,” Brown.   

As for Coast Futura, the next step would be an approval of the business plan then see what kind of funding is available, along with the cost of the systems.

"Whenever you have a project that borders on something new to the community, parts of the community, there will be portions of the community that speaks against it," Faulkner.