Response to city’s op-ed on Murray Street Bridge

I assume that taxpayers, meaning property tax payers and not UCSC students or temporary residents who vote for tax increases, find the May 11 Guest Commentary’s opening lines offensive: “In Santa Cruz, we’re known for our natural beauty, our vibrant neighborhoods and our strong sense of community. But what often goes unseen is the vital infrastructure that supports our daily lives, until it needs repair.”

FYI, the combined-income of the city bureaucrats who wrote this is over $650,000, not including benefits.

Waiting three years for a main artery to reopen because bike lanes aren’t wide enough is outlandish. If that’s the city’s objective then have the bike riders pay for these lanes and infrastructure upgrades, like zero-emissions rail-lines. (FYI, the water district is planning three sewage/water tax hikes because they must pay off their bonds, which they don’t mention.)

These bureaucrats don’t sit in traffic or watch bikers breaking laws on the only artery through town. Three years is too long, not counting overhead costs. Time to recall officials and take action or continue sitting in traffic.

— Jeff Staben, Soquel

A functional, continuous trail would be beloved

There should be no question in anyone’s mind whether or not rail banking works. Opponents will claim that “less than 10%” of the nation’s banked rails have returned to service. True, but that does not account for those approved, but not finished.

The point is to keep the ROW intact for when a rail restoration project can begin in earnest. In that light, rail banking is overwhelmingly successful. Look up the A-train in Denton, Texas, as a great example.

The real agenda here is this: A wide, continuous interim trail might become as beloved by locals as a fourth commuter lane, and as beloved by tourists as the Boardwalk. There, I said it. We might love a highly functional trail with legal e-bike lanes more than a train.

I’m an environmentalist. The first question I ask about any project is, does it pass the Greta Thunberg test? It doesn’t. While rail supporters will try to use VMT as the correct metric for our small, narrow county, the real question should be: How fast can we build the Interim Trail?

— Michael Parisi, Aptos

Rail-first approach has delayed trail progress

Sally Arnold’s claim (May 13, Guest Commentary) that rail trail opponents are “anti-trail” misses the mark entirely. The primary focus of many critics has been the unrealistic prioritization of rail over trail, resulting in a corridor that remains largely inaccessible to the community.

After 14 years, we have just two miles of disjointed trail with no comprehensive funding plan for Mid to South County segments. Meanwhile, those advocating for a complete, continuous trail are labeled as “anti-trail” while the RTC remains fixated on a rail system with no clear timeline or secured funding.

Arnold frames opposition as obstructionist, but the real obstruction is the insistence on rail without adequately addressing the trail infrastructure that was promised to voters with their slogan “Rail and Trail: We can have both!”

It’s time to be honest: The rail-first approach has delayed progress on a countywide trail network that could have already been serving residents, cyclists and pedestrians alike.

— Bill Cook, Santa Cruz

Palestinians deserve right of self-determination

A recent letter writer’s defense of Israeli policies ignores important facts. Palestine was ruled by the Ottoman Turks for 600 years, followed by brutal British Empire (1920-47), and by the Zionists since 1948 after their militias violently expelled 750,000 Palestinian residents. The Gaza Strip was under siege for 17 years before Oct. 7, 2023. Any society under occupation has a right to defend itself. The U.S. continues to supply WMD to Israel in the latter’s well-documented genocide and wanton murder of civilians, including children and the elderly.

For 130 years, Zionist leaders have stated their goal: One ethno-nationalist state in which Palestinians either exist as second-class citizens within the state itself, live under martial law in the West Bank, or are murdered by the thousands in Gaza as Europe and the U.S. silently ignore the atrocities. Palestinians deserve the right to finally achieve self-determination and pursue their lives in peace and with dignity.

— Robert deFreitas, Santa Cruz