Highway 1 Auxiliary Lane widening project will have a major impact on traffic within Santa Cruz County.   To help alleviate the major traffic congestion, we are requesting that the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) immediately move forward to open the Santa Cruz Coastal Trail as a gravel trail from Watsonville to Santa Cruz Boardwalk by 2023.   

It is essential that all three (3) of our County corridors (Highway 1, Soquel Drive, Coastal Corridor) are leveraged to maximum advantage during construction of Highway 1 upgrades. Past RTC transportation studies on the coastal trail show it will help reduce traffic congestion and provide an alternative to local driving.   

We support building a gravel trail built from Watsonville to Santa Cruz Boardwalk by 2023 - that aligns with the long term plans for a world-class trail with targeted Bus Rapid Transit.