RTC Seeking Input on Use of Measure D Funds on Regional Highway, Trail, Rail, and Lift Line Projects

The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) invites the community to provide input on how it plans to invest voter-approved Measure D revenues. Measure D, the transportation improvement ballot measure passed by over 2/3 of Santa Cruz County voters in November 2016, provides funds for highway, trail, rail, multimodal local road, and transit programs in Santa Cruz County.

The RTC is responsible for allocating funds to regional projects consistent with the voter-approved Measure D Expenditure Plan and preparing a Strategic Implementation Plan for projects and programs along Highway 1, the Coastal Rail Trail-Monterey Bay Sanctuary Scenic Trail Network (MBSST), the rail corridor, the San Lorenzo Valley Highway 9 Corridor, and the Highway 17 Wildlife Crossing. The RTC will also take action on the Community Bridges’ Lift Line proposed five-year plan. The draft five-year plans and Strategic Implementation Plan (SIP) are online at www.sccrtc.org/move.

Members of the public can provide comments in person to the RTC board during a public hearing on Thursday, November 2, 2023, to begin no sooner than 9:30 a.m. at the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisor’s Chamber, 701 Ocean Street, Room 525, Santa Cruz, and via zoom (login link). The deadline to submit written comments by email to info@sccrtc.org is 9 a.m. on Wednesday, November 1, 2023. The meeting will also be broadcast on Community TV. Staff reports and meeting details are available in the meeting agenda.

The RTC proposes to use Measure D revenues to leverage state and federal grants and deliver the following regional projects:

• Highway 1: Auxiliary lanes linking on and off ramps and bus-on-shoulder facilities between Soquel Avenue and Freedom Boulevard and new bicycle/pedestrian bridges over the highway.
• Coastal Rail Trail: Bicycle/pedestrian trail between Davenport and Watsonville.
• Rail Corridor: Maintenance and more detailed analysis of rail transit options in the rail corridor.
• San Lorenzo Valley/Highway 9: Improvements at the elementary/middle/high school complex in Felton, sidewalks through downtown Boulder Creek, and other projects identified in the Highway 9/San Lorenzo Valley (SLV) Complete Streets Corridor Plan.

Measure D is a 30-year, ½-cent local sales tax that went into effect in April 2017. It provides reliable local funds to help address some of the highest priority projects in the region and address some of the backlog of local road maintenance. For more information about the Regional Transportation Commission or Measure D, please visit www.sccrtc.org. To receive regular information about implementation of Measure D, please sign up here: http://sccrtc.org/about/esubscriptions/.