Argument for Measure D

Measure D is the right solution, right now to build a bike and pedestrian trail on the unused rail corridor.

The Greenway plan to build a 32-mile trail, accessible to all, is fully funded and can be built now.  The trail will preserve the natural landscape and showcase the beauty of our coastline.

There are no detours onto streets, making Greenway the safest route to schools and work.  It also promotes the health of our community.  That’s why more than 200 doctors support Greenway.

A YES vote will move more people out of cars and reduce traffic, which supports the County’s goal to increase the percentage of commuters on bikes to 20%, cutting air pollution.

Leading environmentalists support Measure D because it is the ecological trail proposal. The train and trail plan, if ever built, will result in heavy industrialization of the corridor with concrete retaining walls, fences separating neighborhoods, and cutting down hundreds of heritage trees.

Greenway is the best plan to get people moving now while also safeguarding future rail options through railbanking, a federal program used by hundreds of communities across the nation.

Since purchasing the corridor 10 years ago, only 1 mile of the 32-mile trail has been built.  Santa Cruz County does not have the ridership – or $1.3 billion – needed to replace nearly all tracks and bridges, build stations and parking lots, and operate a passenger rail line.  This is an unrealistic “plan” that will never be sufficiently funded.  And it will divert scarce funds from our current public transit systems, Metro and ParaCruz, as well as county roads and Hwy 1.

LET’S MOVE FORWARD NOW and vote YES on Measure D.  A YES vote is the fastest way to get people moving in a safe, healthy and inclusive way.  Learn more at yes-greenway.org.

/s/ Dr. Casey KirkHart, Chief Medical Officer, Santa Cruz Community Health

/s/ Gayle Ortiz, Former Capitola Mayor and Owner of Gayle’s Bakery and Rosticceria

/s/ Gary Griggs, Distinguished Professor of Earth Sciences, UCSC

/s/ April Hernandez, Watsonville Mother and Marketing Associate, Compass, Inc.

/s/ Tim Brattan, Executive Director, Grey Bears

If an asterisk (*) appears after a name, it means the person is signing on behalf of that agency/organization.

If no asterisk (*) appears after a name, it means the person is signing as an individual.