Public commenters press RTC on bicycle safety, right‑of‑way study and support for transit and trails

Public comment opened the Feb. 6 RTC meeting with multiple speakers urging attention to bicycle and pedestrian safety and thanking the commission for recent project work.

Frank (who identified himself as "Frank Ted Remedy, Ted nickname") asked the commission to study where county‑owned right‑of‑way might be reclaimed to widen roads and reduce conflicts between bicycles and automobiles, saying two‑lane roads with a 40‑foot right‑of‑way "are being encroached" in places and recommending a study to identify where the county can retake right‑of‑way for active‑transportation use.

Michael Saint, who identified himself as a Pajaro resident and member of CFST, offered condolences for Dr. Rob Quinn and welcomed Supervisor Kim de Serpa to the commission. Saint said he hopes the supervisor "will keep an open mind, bring fresh ideas, and possibly question some of the direction the RTC is going with some of their projects," and urged support for a "robust mass transit system here in Santa Cruz County, whatever form that may take."

During the Watsonville presentation and the CAVA discussion, speakers from local organizations — including TrailNow and Friends of the Rail and Trail — urged expedited work on rail‑trail connections, with TrailNow noting high per‑mile costs where alignment work has proceeded only piecemeal and urging realistic, timely strategies to open the coastal corridor for trail use.

Why it matters: public commenters raised both near‑term safety fixes (sidewalks, right‑of‑way reclamation) and broader planning choices (rail vs. trail alignments, mass transit) that feed into RTC project priorities and funding decisions.