The Santa Cruz County Regional
Transportation Commission in the near future hopes to have enough money for the
purchase of a Union Pacific rail line between Davenport and Watsonville that
could be used for a new streetcar or historic trolley line. The commission
already has $10 million of the approximately $22 million being asked by the
railroad and has instructed its staff to draw up a draft application for an
$11-million grant from voter-approved Proposition 116, the Clean Air and
Transportation Improvement Act. The tracks are within walking distance of every
tourist attraction in the county, and a rail line could not only attract
visitors but also get them to travel by public transportation instead of by car.
