Mike Rotkin: Understanding what’s best for transportation in Santa Cruz, California

By Mike Rotkin, Santa Cruz Sentinel; January 31, 2018

Several recent Sentinel letters have argued that preserving the rail line through the county is a mistake because rail is only for the nostalgic, and that far more local residents will use a wider trail if the tracks are ripped up immediately. Unfortunately, they have less than a complete understanding of our transportation situation in Santa Cruz.

In general, rail, which is the least expensive and most environmentally sound solution to most modern transportation issues, is growing as an alternative in cities world-wide and here in the United States. Communities like Portland, Oregon, have found that modern, light-rail trains, when combined with other transportation modes, are the key to efficiently moving large numbers of people in comfort and without the climate impacts of the automobile, which produces roughly 40 percent of all greenhouse gases in the United States. The federal and state governments are increasing, not decreasing, funding for rail projects in California.

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