Within a few years there will be almost 50 miles of new trails from Bonny Doon to the Santa Cruz Wharf. Almost. There will be a two mile gap south of Davenport and that’s a serious problem we’re trying to fix.

The gap is between the Coastal Rail Trail that will go from the wharf to within two miles of Davenport and the trails the Land Trust will build through San Vicente Redwoods and then across the Coast Dairies property (BLM is in charge of that part).

The problem is that thousands of trail users will come up the coast and down the mountain and find themselves on a narrow stretch of a dangerous road – Highway 1. In the past 4 years 17 bicyclist/pedestrians have been hit by vehicles along Highway 1, 10 of these in the Davenport Gap.

The Federal grant that mostly funds the North Coast rail trail wasn’t big enough to pay for those last two miles. What we’re doing now is paying for the engineering for the last two miles, so that the project becomes “shovel ready,” which improves the chances of getting another grant to actually build it.

The “we” here is the Land Trust and the Regional Transportation Commission, who put up $1 million between us to fund the engineering and design. RTC put in $300,000 and the Land Trust $700,000. That same “we” worked together to get the North Coast segment funded. Saying we’re partners is like saying Sears and Roebuck were partners.

From the beginning this is how we’ve promised to build the Rail Trail ASAP – by matching grants, seizing opportunities, and doing everything we can to turn this visionary project into reality. So far we’ve committed more than $5 million to fund Rail Trail projects along the North Coast, in Watsonville, and through the Twin Lakes area of Live Oak. We’ve raised about $3 million. You can help get all this done by making a donation here.