By Zach Friend, 2nd District Santa Cruz County Supervisor
At the most recent Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) meeting the Commission considered updates to the Regional Transportation Plan. Among other things, this plan outlines the funding priorities for transportation needs in the county. This process is considered over multiple public meetings, workshops and forums where the community has an opportunity to share their thoughts on how our limited transportation funding should be allocated. The RTC consists of every member of the Board of Supervisors as well as elected representatives from each city and appointees by the Santa Cruz County Metro (transit district).
The RTC staff estimates that the cost to operate, maintain and improve the transportation system in Santa Cruz County through 2035 will cost approximately $5.6 billion. However, projected revenues for transportation over that time amount to $2.7 billion. Therefore, project lists are broken into expected funding categories (where money is expected and the project is a priority to get done) and potential funding (where money is possible and the project is still important but funding isn’t immediately expected).
Aptos Improvements
For the Aptos area, our office worked with RTC staff and took community input to prioritize funding for a number of multi-modal transportation improvements including sidewalks, turn lanes, bike lanes, signalization and upgrades to road condition. Funding for Highway 1 auxiliary lanes is also included in a tiered approach: from Soquel to 41st and then Park to State Park. The Park to State Park section is expected to be quite some time down the road.
For the local road improvements, we focused on the following sections in Aptos (note that this is not inclusive for 2nd District improvements as parts of Corralitos, Freedom, Watsonville and Capitola were also addressed): Aptos Beach Drive, Aptos Village area, Cathedral Drive, Center Ave/Seacliff Drive, Cliff Drive, Clubhouse Drive, Rio Del Mar/Esplanade area, Hunting Drive (Monroe to Valencia), Mar Vista, Mar Monte, Pinehurst Dr, Rio Del Mar Blvd, Searidge Drive, Seascape Blvd, Spreckels/Treasure Island Drive, Sumner, Trout Gulch, Valencia Drive and Wallace Avenue.
As noted above, most of these improvements include sidewalk additions and extensions, bike lanes, turnouts, left turn lanes, transit stops, intersection improvements, rehab/maintenance of the road. While many of these improvements will take some time, it is great to be partnering with the RTC to ensure that the local roads in the Aptos area are improved.
Rail Corridor
Our office continues to receive concerns about the condition of the corridor which includes weeds and trash as well as the condition of the crossings at Mar Vista, Aptos Creek, Trout Gulch and lastly the trestle condition (graffiti etc) in Aptos Village. The Aptos Creek and Trout Gulch crossings are slated for improvements as part of the Aptos Village development. We have been working with RTC staff and the rail operator to address these issues. RTC staff has been very proactive on these issues and very helpful in working with our office and the rail operator to make improvements. We have received a commitment from the rail operator for an initial set of improvements at the Mar Vista crossing for this month. We have not been able to receive a similar timeline for weed and trash maintenance but we’re hopeful that the operator will commit to make these ongoing improvements.
•••
As always, our office appreciates your thoughts and feedback. Feel free to call at 454-2200. www.zachfriend.com