Coast Futura: Our Path to the Future

[@janebruce-munro4764]

YES! Santa Cruz needs this NOW!

[@ldfreitas9437]

I rode this trolley back two months ago and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Do not, DO NOT, sign the Greenway petition! As an aside, my dad rode the Sun Tan Special many, many decades ago, when it still went over the Santa Cruz Mountains back, back in the early 1930's before the tracks were taken out in 1940 and the Sun Tan Special was rerouted through Gilroy and Watsonville from San Jose.

[@JudyGittelsohn]

Fantastic!!!!!

[@fainasegal138]

love, love, love!

[@cdbagshaw]

This is wonderful. Let’s do it.

[@jackmccourt1541]

We need to elect politicians that want to expedite the rail trail!

[@TohaBgood2]

A wow! Just wow! Quick, let's built this now! Tomorrow! Take my money! I'll even volunteer to work on it if I have to!

[@robertarko333]

This is not a future fantasy. Active personal transportation complementing rail transit is a proven solution existing in many other locations across the world. Why not Santa Cruz?

[@jadevalcourt]

Love the passion, but the product...oh lordy. That slower-than-a-bus train will, unfortunately, never be a commuter option. It will need to go MUCH faster than a bus to offer competitive options. Also, SC County will need to have higher residential density near stations to create any kind of sustainable commuter ridership. Otherwise it'll be a nice tourist attraction. Nevertheless, SC is trying and folks deserve some kudos for dreaming.

[@coastfutura]

The trams can go up to 50 MPH on prepared track and are not impacted by traffic congestion. As to the density issue, the SC County General Plan and Specific Plans can be adjusted to encourage denser housing (transit oriented development) near the rail line.

[@maryoffermann3429]

and, of course, it will go much much faster when the rails are repaired and updated...this is just a taste of the possibilities...

[@jadevalcourt]

@@coastfutura What does "prepared track" need in terms of investment?

[@coastfutura]

@@jadevalcourt Essentially welding track joints for a smoother, quieter ride (and allow for higher speeds), and some track and tie replacement. Most of the track and ties are in good shape per recent inspections.

[@ldfreitas9437]

@@jadevalcourt Upgrading the tracks so the tram can go 25 mph is cheap compared to having a six lane freeway from Santa Cruz to Watsonville, which will cost a billion and a half. For $500K, we would get a rail line upgraded to class two, class three from the freeway in Watsonville to Manresa so a tram could go 50 mph on that stretch, and a trail. Get a clue!

[@romanrat5613]

This is a step in the right direction. But the tramcar look painfully small. Perhaps later installation of overhead direct electricity supply for more power could be the solution?

[@coastfutura]

Each tram has a capacity of 100, and the double version can carry 200. The trams can also be virtually coupled.

[@romanrat5613]

@@coastfutura Oh, so this must be a smaller mockup. I counted 5 rows of 3 seats in one half, so 15x2 is 30 seated, + *maybe* 20 standing? There's no way 100 people fit in one shown in the video

[@ytjoemoore94]

I use a car, bus and bike regularly and while I totally like the idea I don't expect I would ever use something like this. Santa Cruz has a good sized tourist industry so I guess thats where a lot of the push is coming from. Realistally, a bus route to Watsonville is way faster. From the video, it seems like my bike may be faster. It may boost some tourism which is totally fine if that's what you want but It's dishonest to frame this as some sort of revolutionary solution to public transportation in SC.

[@TohaBgood2]

Nope.

[@snoopyloopy]

There absolutely should be rail service but it needs to be something that is FRA-compliant to enable better integration into service beyond this specific corridor.

[@coastfutura]

Yes - and the Coast Futura demo was FRA and CPUC compliant. This generally mean temporal separation between passenger and any other service on the line.

[@davidwelsh6292]

It’s so quite you know

[@davidwelsh6292]

What’s going on bruh