Hi everyone — Patrice Boyle here, owner of La Posta and organizer of the Murray Street Rail Bridge Petition.
Last week’s City Council meeting showed again just how badly our City government misunderstands the crisis they helped create. Businesses in Seabright and the Harbor are hanging by a thread — yet City staff keep offering half-measures, surveys, and loan proposals that don’t come close to addressing the real problem.
Seabright Social has already announced it will close its doors — the first casualty of this closure.
Owners of The Crow’s Nest, Betty Burgers, Java Junction, and many others spoke about revenue drops of 20–30% or more. Some said this summer is worse than during the pandemic.
Meanwhile, City staff dismissed the rail bridge option as too hard, citing a $1.7 million estimate (in contrast, community members got an estimate of $350k), liability worries, and a letter from Progressive Rail — an out-of-state company that runs almost no freight here.
What small business owners see is simple: sales down, payrolls at risk, customers cut off. What City Hall talks about is: surveys, free parking at 13 meters, and maybe a shuttle in “2–3 months.” That’s the disconnect. Government is moving at bureaucratic speed while real businesses operate at survival speed.
This is an emergency. Emergency measures exist for a reason. Instead of punching down on local businesses, the City should be bold enough to stand up to the rail operators and use the corridor they already own.
We’ve built momentum together — more than 1,900 signatures and growing. Please keep sharing the petition and contacting City Council and RTC commissioners. Tell them: three years of inaction is not acceptable.
Thank you for standing with us,
Patrice Boyle
Owner, La Posta
Organizer, Murray Street Rail Bridge Petition
Read the Santa Cruz Local coverage here
Contact the decision makers:
- City of Santa Cruz (Mayor & Council)
- Santa Cruz County RTC (Commissioners & Executive Director)
- Roaring Camp / Progressive Rail
- All of the above