Santa Cruz County Transportation Digest

A report on an April 1 online forum in which the Santa Cruz Regional Transportation Commission presented details about passenger rail service to connect Watsonville and Santa Cruz and to regional and state rail routes.

A report on a town hall meeting held on April 2 and hosted by the City of Capitola and the Regional Transportation Commission to discuss the city's approach to the Coastal Rail Trail.

When California motorists fill their tanks, they are often paying the nation’s highest gas prices, an average of $4.65 a gallon currently and about $1.50 above the national average.

For the last century, the money has gone to counties with large amounts of federal land that can’t be taxed. Congress failed to include it in the upcoming budget.

Work on clearing a massive rockslide is progressing smoothly and one lane of Highway 140 into Yosemite National Park is expected to reopen within days.

Up to three years of full or partial closures of the Murray Street bridge can be expected as the long-planned seismic rebuilding project begins March 24. Read on for details.

A major rockslide has closed the Highway 140 entrance to Yosemite National Park. Read on for details.

The permit lays the groundwork toward a driverless taxi service. Tesla has said it will launch such a service in Austin, Texas in June.

The ports of LA and Long Beach are the biggest sources of air pollution in the LA basin. Air quality officials have drafted new rules to help electrify the ports. But community groups representing 400,000 residents say they don’t go far enough or fast enough to clean up their dirty air.

In a March 12 public information meeting, Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission and a consulting engineering firm reported that all of the 33 bridges on the 22-mile rail corridor will need to be repaired or replaced at a projected cost of almost $1 billion to support passenger rail service. Read on for details.

Read on to learn about the challenges delaying the completion and release of the rail trail vision report by the Regional Transportation Commission.

Oakland Democrat Buffy Wicks said lawmakers will soon see 20 bills to speed up housing construction, along with more on energy, water and transit.

Since 2016, the DMV has collected more than $8 million from nearly 5,300 car sales, according to a CalMatters analysis.

In the wake of past devastating fires, Santa Cruz County residents in vulnerable "one-way-out" are taking the lead in preparing safe evacuation routes in case of future fires. Read on to learn more.

Read on to learn more about the rapid progress Joby Aviation is making as it works to begin offering commercial air taxi service in the next year or two.

California’s new Low Carbon Fuel Standard has been stalled because it lacks ”clarity.” The new standard, which offers incentives for cleaner fuels, is highly controversial because it would raise gas prices.

California lawmakers are rushing to fix last year’s controversial changes to the state’s lemon law, which critics say weakened protections for car buyers.

The Murray Street Bridge Seismic Retrofit and Barrier replacement project is finally underway after years of delays. Read on for more information about the project and how it will impact neighborhood traffic.

In their February 11 meeting, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors approved $6.4 million to fund resurfacing of 11.6 miles of roads in the unincorporated county. But is it enough? Read on to learn more.

A deadline for resolution of the issue of mobile homes encroaching on the path of the Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line is approaching. Read on the get the details about what's being done to solve the issue and determine who's responsible for next steps.

Read on to learn about the latest update to upcoming changes Santa Cruz Metro service.

In a striking setback to reduce California’s air pollution but a win for trucking companies, state regulators have walked away from their ambitious plan to phase out diesel trucks less than a week before President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House.

Learn about how the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission plans to utilize the $19.5 million in federal funds to continue work on the rail trail.

While cities in California continue to pass ordinances to combat illegal sideshows, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed several laws that go into effect this year statewide to give municipalities more legal tools to address them. 

A CalTrans funded study of climate risk to the 586 miles of county-maintained roads and the 32 miles of rail was released. Read on to learn more of its findings.

Now that a contract has been awarded for the Murray Street Bridge earthquake retrofit in Santa Cruz, a spring 2025 groundbreaking is expected for the $45 million project. Read on to learn more.

Read on to learn how you can give your feedback on the City of Santa Cruz 5-year West Cliff Roadmap.

Two-way traffic is set to resume on West Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz. Read on for more information about the 2-year effort to repair the storm-damaged road and beloved seaside walkway.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s decree that by 2035 all new cars sold in California must be powered by batteries or other zero-emission systems has received a double dose of legal and political support.

The US EPA granted California’s waiver, which the incoming Trump administration is likely to try to overturn in the courts. The state’s zero-emission vehicle mandates have been the driving force behind California’s progress in cleaning up dangerous air pollutants.

Encroachments on rail trail segments 10 and 11 in Live Oak and Capitola by two mobile home parks have led to a requirement to move over 40 mobile homes by June 2025. Read on to learn more.

The Biden administration is awarding Inflation Reduction Act money to help clean the air before President-elect Trump takes over.