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Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line Rail Transit Feasibility Study Final Report

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Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line Rail Transit Feasibility Study Final Report Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line Rail Transit Feasibility Study Final Report Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission Source: SCCRTC November 2015 Study Prepared by: CONSULTANT TEAM Lindsey Hilde, AICP, Fehr & Peers Tom Matoff, LTK Engineering Services Bob Grandy, P.E., Fehr & Peer Ted Rosenbaum, LTK Engineering Services Steve Crosley, AICP, Fehr & Peers Buzz Berger, P.E., RailPros Nicole Foletta, AICP, Fehr & Peers Bob Schaevitz SANTA CRUZ COUNTY REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION STAFF Rachel Moriconi, Study Project Manager Karena Pushnik, Study Project Manager Brianna Goodman, Transportation Planning Technician Acknowledgements COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND GROUPS Members of the public provided extensive input throughout development of this study. The community’s thoughtful participation in discussions about transportation needs in the Santa Cruz County and how the Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line may help address some of those needs demonstrates the importance and complexity of transportation planning. 2015 SANTA CRUZ COUNTY REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION John Leopold, Chair Cynthia Chase Bruce McPherson Don Lane, Vice Chair Ryan Coonerty Dennis Norton Ed Bottorff Jimmy Dutra Tim Gubbins, Ex-Officio Greg Caput Zack Friend George Dondero, Executive Director Karina Cervantez Randy Johnson Luis Mendez, Deputy Director PROJECT ADVISORY TEAM Kelly McClendon, Caltrans District 5 Planning Erich Friedrich, Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District (METRO) Kevin Busath and Steve Hill, SC&MB Railway/Iowa Pacific TECHNICAL STAKEHOLDER GROUP Heather Adamson, AMBAG Jamie Goldstein, City of Capitola Dennis Bailey-Fougnier, Cabrillo College Rich Grunow, City of Capitola Kelly McClendon, Caltrans Steve Jesberg, City of Capitola J. Guevara, City of Santa Cruz Tom Sharpe, City of Watsonville Claire Fliesler, City of Santa Cruz Michelle Templeton, City of Watsonville Juliana Rebagliati, City of Santa Cruz Nicona Keesaw, Co. Commission on Disabilities Michelle King, City of Santa Cruz Barbara Mason, County of Santa Cruz Mark Dettle, City of Santa Cruz John Presleigh, County of Santa Cruz Ross Clark, City of Santa Cruz Paia Levine, County of Santa Cruz Kurt Overmeyer, City of Watsonville Jeff Weeks, Iowa Pacific Maria Esther Rodriguez, City of Watsonville Erich Friedrich, SCMTD Murray Fontes, City of Watsonville Teresa Buika, UCSC/TAPS Suzi Merriam, City of Watsonville Lisa Berkowitz, Community Bridges Patrice Theriot, City of Watsonville Veronica Elsea, MAC/Transit Riders RAIL PEERS ADVISORY GROUP Christina Watson, TAMC Chris Augustein, Santa Clara VTA Virginia Muriello, TAMC Jim Allison, Capitol Corridor Matt Stevens, SMART Joel Cox, Capitol Corridor Linda Meckel, SMART Sebastian Petty, Caltrain Johnny Dunning, NCTD-Sprinter Hunter Harvath, Monterey-Salinas Transit Mike Wygant, NCTD-Sprinter Jim Swofford, GG Railroad Museum Dee Leggett, Denton A-Train Nathan Goodman, Big Trees/Roaring Camp Steve Witter, Portland Streetcar Pete Rogers, SLOCOG Stacey Mortensen, ACE FTA and CALTRANS This study was funded from a $250,000 Federal Transit Administration (FTA) 5304 Transit Planning grant distributed by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). Cover photo courtesy of Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART), 2015 Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................... I Study Area .............................................................................................................................................................................. ii Purpose of Study ................................................................................................................................................................. iii Why Consider Rail Transit for the Santa Cruz Branch Line?............................................................................... iv Measuring Feasibility: Goals and Objectives ............................................................................................................. v Stations and Scenarios Analyzed ................................................................................................................................... v Technical Analysis: Ridership and Costs .................................................................................................................... ix Funding Assessment ......................................................................................................................................................... xii Other Evaluation Measures/Feasibility ..................................................................................................................... xiii Service Parameters ........................................................................................................................................................... xiv Next Steps/ Implementation ......................................................................................................................................... xv Public Involvement ........................................................................................................................................................... xvi Study Scope Limitations ................................................................................................................................................ xvii 1.0 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Purpose of Study ................................................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Regional Context ................................................................................................................................................. 2 1.3 Project Area ........................................................................................................................................................ 11 1.4 History of Corridor and Rail Line Purchase ............................................................................................ 12 1.5 Bicycle and pedestrian “Rail Trail” ............................................................................................................. 18 1.6 Outreach and Public Involvement ............................................................................................................. 22 1.7 Study Contents .................................................................................................................................................. 26 2.0 RAIL SYSTEM OPTIONS .................................................................................................................. 28 2.1 Rail Technology ................................................................................................................................................ 29 2.2 Rail Car Layout .................................................................................................................................................. 39 2.3 Comparable Systems ...................................................................................................................................... 40 3.0 STUDY GOALS & OBJECTIVES ....................................................................................................... 41 4.0 RAIL TRANSIT SERVICE ALTERNATIVES ....................................................................................... 43 4.1 Scenario Development ................................................................................................................................... 43 4.2 Service Scenarios .............................................................................................................................................. 51 5.0 METHODS AND ASSUMPTIONS .................................................................................................... 58 6.0 TECHNICAL ASSESSMENT OF SERVICE SCENARIOS ................................................................... 78 6.1 Capital Cost Estimates .................................................................................................................................... 78 6.2 Operations & Vehicle Maintenance Cost Estimates ......................................................................... 101 6.3 Ridership Forecasts........................................................................................................................................ 108 6.4 Funding Assessment ..................................................................................................................................... 118 7.0 EVALUATION OF RAIL TRANSIT .................................................................................................. 129 7.1 Evaluation Measures ..................................................................................................................................... 129 7.2 Evaluation Results .......................................................................................................................................... 134 7.3 Performance Comparison ........................................................................................................................... 139 7.4 Other Evaluation Criteria ............................................................................................................................
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