Rail Trail Purchase Appears to Be Back on Track
After more than a year of inaction, the Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) has issued a new schedule for the purchase of the Union Pacific rail corridor between Santa Cruz and Watsonville. The purchase is expected to be completed September 2008. The purchase opens the way to the construction of a bicycle/pedestrian trail along with freight and passenger service.
We have reason to believe that the sale will go forward this time: Supervisor Pirie (who, in the past, has expressed reservations about the purchase) has made several public statements supporting the acquisition. And the City of Capitola recently voted to support it. Concurrently, the RTC is preparing to hire a consultant to start planning the rail trail, as well as other trails along the coast.
Information as to why the purchase was stalled for so long is confidential. Our assumption is that the purchase was on hold during negotiations for a transportation sales tax whose primary goal was widening Highway 1. We believe the tax effort ate up staff time necessary to complete the purchase, created an unnecessary and unwelcome link between highway widening and the rail purchase, and created confusion for Union Pacific regarding available funding to complete the sale.
Let's keep appreciating the RTC for their stated intention, and keep educating the public as to the benefits of the purchase.