Ribbon Cutting on Rail Trail to Nowhere

The RTC celebrated the opening of the San Lorenzo Trestle path on May 22nd as the opening of the rail trail. There’s just one problem—it’s not a rail trail! 

The ribbon cutting took place on the same side of the San Lorenzo River Trestle, in the same Boardwalk parking lot as the dedication ceremony did on Jan 10th.

You can now cross a 10' gangway on the bridge instead of the old 3' death trap, but there’s still no place to go and no reason to celebrate on the other side. It’s the same old steep ramp to a dangerous street and narrow sidewalk.

To call this part of the rail trail is classic political spin. More accurately, it is an upgrade to a path that has existed for decades and perhaps one of the simplest paths on the entire corridor!

A true rail trail opening will be when this section goes under the bridge and provides safe access to get to Seabright Avenue and Murray Street—that will be reason to celebrate!

The cost for this section under the bridge is still unknown. Segment 7A, which came back at 3X the original cost and missed last year's construction milestone, still hasn't been put back out to bid.

The upgraded path over the San Lorenzo is not the rail corridor we need for 21st century transportation. It’s just a stopgap measure until leaders decide to get something realistic done.