“I believe Trail Only is the best choice for Santa Cruz.”

“I want safer bicycle infrastructure for my two kids, husband and myself. My husband rides a bicycle to work and the stretch from Capitola to Midtown is incredibly unsafe. My two children have to ride on sidewalks to get to school as well as the beach. This town needs major improvement on their safe routes.”

“Zero-emission buses are needed here, not trains.

As much as I love trains in Europe and between Washington D.C. and New York, this is not the time to build them in Santa Cruz. Instead, we should use our money to increase the number of electric buses all over the county, lower the fares for all, and subsidize fares for low-income residents. Thousands of people will no longer rely heavily on cars, the air will be cleaner, and traffic jams will lighten up. Moreover, the majority of people who will ride the buses, at reduced fares, will be working class.

Building a commuter electric railroad is absurd. Wisely, on April 1, the RTC refused to accept the train plan which had a $198 million shortfall for construction and a $125 million annual operating shortfall.

We need zero emission buses, which will fight our climate emergencies more efficiently, and make our county a more civilized place to live.”

“A walking and bicycle trail connecting the communities of South County to North County sounds SO amazing! Pedestrian and bicycle friendly and so much safer and more affordable than a trail with a train running along side it!”

“I truly believe this would be a tremendous gift to our county. Giving people an alternative to the highway to travel to work and giving families and tourists a fun and healthy way to explore our beautiful county. Let’s make this happen!”

“We live in one of the most beautiful places in the world and have perfect weather; why can’t we access all of this by bike? Also, there are almost zero ways for community members to exercise in a fun and easy to access manner.”

“Santa Cruz needs this! Let us be the example of the future!”

“A bike path will make my commute much safer. I don’t know anyone personally that is interested in a train commute from Watsonville to Santa Cruz.”

“I believe a train is wasteful spending and not necessary for our community.
The money is better spent on the trail-only approach.
A trail-only approach is consistent with the culture and values of Santa Cruz.”

“Santa Cruz needs this. The rail trail is the perfect solution for safer bicycling and avoiding Highway 1 traffic to get between south, east, and west sides.”

“Proposed rail would not carry that many people.

In a Letter to the Editor published Oct. 8, the writer said that the rail corridor should be “high density transit.”

Yet, all the plans I’ve seen are to run one railcar every 45 minutes or so, proposing battery/ electric/hybrid rail tram cars that seat 33 and have 67 standing for 100 passengers maximum. One hundred people every 45 minutes is not high density; Highway 1 carries upwards of 6,500 people an hour in each direction (CalTrans data for 2017 in the vicinity of Soquel and Morrissey). To equal that with these hybrid trams would require a full standing-room only tram every minute in each direction – and this is on a single track. Oh,. and if you allow bicycles on board, you reduce the capacity of the car by several standees per bicycle.”

“I rode my bike for a living for a long time and rode in major cycling-friendly cities such as San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, and even Oakland. I moved back home to Santa Cruz and was shocked at how horrible the cycling infrastructure is. For such a “progressive” city, Santa Cruz seems to have no clue as to how to make safe ways for cyclists to get around town. I often find myself riding in a bike lane that suddenly disappears with no warning and I am thrown into a car traffic lane with no shoulder. I couldn’t imagine having less confidence in my cycling ability or having children and trying to get around town with them.

The main purpose of the rail-trail is to get cars off of the road. Providing a dedicated bike/walking path from Santa Cruz to Watsonville is the best way to do it. It goes through major residential corridors and would be easy to access for a number of people, and is close enough to the commercial corridors that those who choose to use it to go to work would not have to spend much time riding with car traffic.

Plus, increasing cycling/pedestrian traffic along this corridor will decrease the amount of quality of life crimes that occur along the railroad tracks right now, especially if there is night time lighting for those who are commuting home late.”

“This would be a wonderful feature to enjoy with family and friends and it includes some of the most spectacular views along the coast!”