This will be the first of a three-part series over the coming months to provide you with information and activities about your city, call it if you will, a Mayor’s address or State of the City. It is presented to you either to inform you or to create debate and action on issues that affect our great little city.
This first part titled Trains, Planes and Automobiles will be about just that and buses as well.
Many may have noticed we have increased and louder airplane noise in the northern part of our city thanks to the FAA and the new SERFR flight path which has changed the route of planes over the northern part of our city and has resulted in louder and more frequent flights.
The County and City was, in my opinion, misled by the FAA when we were told there would be no impact to our city. This is clearly not true.
“What can we do?” you may ask.
Along with other public officials, we have met with representatives of the FAA. The meeting was informative but not very productive. We were told that the FAA is not likely to go back to the old flight path but possibly could make changes to the current new flight path. Our short term hope and goal is to increase altitude and reduce and/or eliminate air braking over Santa CruzCounty.
There is a great Organization called “SAVE OUR SKIES.” They are well-organized and working hard to make positive changes in the current flight path. If you are interested in getting involved, please go to SOSSantaCruz.org for more information. I will continue to do what I can on this issue and hope to see some change in the near future.
The Regional Transportation Commission of Santa Cruz County has some hard choices to make about transportation in the County. Council Member Johnson and I have spent many years on this commission and, while there are great folks on this commission, I fear the priorities have shifted so much that the future of real transportation will be hindered for years to come.
The RTC is looking to put a tax measure on the ballot next year to raise money for transportation needs throughout the county. The question to you all is how and on what should we spend our money in the future?
Here are some competing projects that all need funding:
– A commuter train which will go from Watsonville to Santa Cruz will take an hour to get from one location to the other, not including drive time to the train station. The estimated cost is about $159 million to build but could be closer to $250 million and $6.9 million to operate each year.
– Every city and the county have a large backlog of streets needing repairs and improvements.
– By far the worst corridor in our County, Highway One needs to be widened. The Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District is in favor of High Occupancy Vehicle (commuter) lanes to allow buses to move from Watsonville to Santa Cruz on time and be a more reliable service.
More Bus service: The Santa Cruz Metro is in a structural deficit and is looking to reduce service. The most vulnerable people in our county rely on our service. Can we afford to cut service to these people?
It’s important to note that any public transportation is heavily subsidized by tax payers, so even if you do not use the service, you are paying for it and your opinion matters.
While I drive a ’72 Chevy Blazer some may think I am not very progressive when it comes to transportation but as Board Chair of the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District, the last 2 years I have pushed for more and cleaner energy sources when it comes to our bus system. We have compressed natural gas (CNG) buses and will be using grants to start purchasing our first fleet of electric buses. I feel that the future of transportation is in cleaner fuel sources for vehicles and buses that allow us to move freely through our county.
Riding on a diesel train that is stuck on tracks built in the 1800’s does not seem very progressive to me.
Thank you for you interest and please look for next month’s addition to the Mayor’s address.
Dene Bustichi
Mayor, City of ScottsValley
