Capitola council delays decision on Park Avenue rail-trail alignment, schedules town hall

The Capitola City Council on Feb. 13 voted to postpone a decision on whether the Coastal Rail Trail should be routed along Park Avenue and to host a publicly noticed town-hall meeting for further information and community input.

County and Regional Transportation Commission staff told the council that a value‑analysis review identified moving the 12-foot, Class I multi‑use trail onto the Park Avenue right-of-way as a way to reduce a roughly $27 million cost increase for the previously approved coastal alignment. County project manager Rob Tidmore and RTC planner Grace Blakesley described two Park Avenue options: Option A preserves an inland on‑street bike lane in addition to the separated trail; Option B omits that inland lane to maximize trail buffer and reduce retaining-wall needs. City staff recommended Option A; county and RTC staff recommended Option B.

Why it matters: Council members, residents and stakeholders offered sharply different priorities — some urging faster delivery of a separated off‑street trail funded by a state Active Transportation Program grant, others warning that routing the trail onto city streets would violate Measure L (Capitola Municipal Code, ch. 8.72), harm monarch butterfly windbreak trees and displace or affect residents whose property borders the rail right‑of‑way. Council postponed a final alignment choice and asked staff to convene a town hall to present additional fiscal, legal and project‑delivery details.

County and RTC presentation: Tidmore said segments 10 and 11 of the Monterey Bay Sanctuary Scenic Trail (the Coastal Rail Trail) total about 4.2 miles; the “ultimate” coastal alignment had been analyzed in an environmental impact report but subsequent construction and right‑of‑way cost estimates rose, creating an approximate $27 million shortfall. The RTC’s June 2024 value‑analysis study proposed…