CA: Santa Cruz RTC to share passenger rail study progress

The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission has compiled another significant tranche of details for its proposed Zero Emission Passenger Rail and Trail Project and plans to share them with the public at its monthly meeting this week.

The findings come as part of milestone 3 of the rail project concept report that is meant to give an early but thorough logistical, environmental and engineering analysis of the proposed 22-mile train and trail effort. It will be summarized by commission staff during the meeting’s public hearing, scheduled to begin no sooner than 10:30 a.m. Thursday inside the Scotts Valley City Council Chambers at 1 Civic Center Drive in Scotts Valley.

According to the agenda report, milestone 3 studied revisions to the rail and trail alignment and alignment options that are in development, project funding opportunities, ridership modeling approaches, stations, bridge structures and noise impacts.

The draft project concept report with preliminary cost estimates will arrive early next year as a component of milestone 4, according to the staff summary, and the final concept report, which will be a major harbinger of the project’s overall viability, is expected to be finished by next summer.

The zero emission rail project stretches from Santa Cruz to Watsonville and, in addition to offering passenger rail services, includes eight unfinished segments of the Coastal Rail Trail project between Rio Del Mar and Pajaro as well as at the Capitola Trestle. The commission hired a contractor to complete the concept report in early 2023 with milestones 1 and 2, which included the project’s preliminary purpose and needs statement as well as alignment and vehicle type details, shared earlier this year.

The draft conceptual alignments have been refined in several key areas since they were first presented to the public this summer as part of milestone 2, according to the staff report. These areas include Beach Street near the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, near Jade Street Park in Capitola between 30th and 47th avenues, six segments of the rail trail in South County as well as options near the Cabrillo College campus in Aptos.

Thursday’s public hearing will also include updated details for the 23 existing railroad bridges along the Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line that have been inspected to see if they can support regular passenger and freight rail service. Staff efforts have included evaluation of which bridges can be sustained by repairs and rehabilitation and which would need to be replaced.

Commission staff also plan to share information about funding that is still needed to complete preliminary engineering, right of way, design and construction services. The money, according to the agenda report, will need to arrive through braiding together federal, state and local grant opportunities including through the Federal Railroad Administration and Federal Transit Administration.

There will also be some discussion of quiet zones that, once designated by state and federal entities, exempt a local jurisdiction from using a horn up to a quarter-mile from a crossing to signal the train’s approach at populous areas if other substitute safety measures are implemented. The commission is in the process of planning a virtual information session covering this topic from 6 to 7 p.m. on Dec. 16.

An overview of the passenger rail project, including videos and summaries of public information sessions, is available at zeprt.com.

Also on the commission’s Thursday agenda is an update on repairs to the Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line after it was damaged during winter storms in recent years.

If you go

• What: Santa Cruz County RTC meeting.
• Why: Public hearing and update on milestone 3 of the Zero Emission Passenger Rail and Trail project concept report.
• When: No earlier than 10:30 a.m. Thursday.
• Where: Scotts Valley City Council Chambers at 1 Civic Center Drive in Scotts Valley.
• How: In person or via Zoom at us02web.zoom.us/j/89597173447.

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