Descriptions of Related and Other Websites

Many agencies and organizations have websites that are relevant to our mission and goals. What follows is a list of those sites to which we have provided links, both on this page, and in our navigation bar, along with a brief description of what you'll find. If you know of other relevant websites, let us know. You can write to us here.

Acronyms and phrases is a pointer to a pair of sites that provide a glossary of various phrases and acronyms used by transportation agencies and others—the language of transportation planning and funding. If you want to participate in any transportation issue, it helps to learn the language, and these sites provide a guide.

The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (SCCRTC, or simply RTC) is the primary transportation agency for Santa Cruz County. They set priorities for major transportation projects in our county, and pursue funding for those projects. There are twelve members of the Commission: (a) Each of the five County Supervisors; (b) a representative from each of the four incorporated cities in the County; and (c) three representatives from the Transit District. Each commissioner has an alternate who may attend in the commissioner's place. The Commission meets twice per month, usually on the first and third Thursday of each month. Whether you're interested in highways, or rail-related issues, or major projects involving pedestrians and bicycles, here is the place to start. Both commissioners and agency staff are knowledgeable and helpful sources of information. The commission office is in Santa Cruz, at 1523 Pacific Avenue—above the Chefworks.

The Transportation Agency for Monterey County (TAMC) is Monterey County's counterpart to the SCCRTC. Their high-quality website has lots of useful information, well-worth checking out.

The Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District (SCMTD, or METRO) operates and maintains Santa Cruz County's highly used bus system. Visit this site for anything bus-related.

Bratton Online is Bruce Bratton's weekly opinion column, where he reports on (and offers opinions on) hot local topics, many of which are transportation-related. Our co-chair Paul Elerick is one of his regular contributors. As Bruce quotes (from Mark Twain, 1894): “It were not best that we should think alike; it is the difference of opinion that makes horse races.” This is where you'll find the news and commentary about the latest controversies.

Price Tags is the blog of Gordon Price, who is the Director of the City Program at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia. In 2002, he finished his sixth term as a City Councillor in Vancouver, BC. He also served on the Board of the Greater Vancouver Regional District (Metro Vancouver) and was appointed to the first board of the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority (TransLink) in 1999. He has spoken at numerous conventions and conferences in many countries, writes a monthly column for Business in Vancouver on civic issues, and conducts tours and seminars on the development of Vancouver. He also publishes an electronic magazine on urban issues, with a focus on Vancouver, also called “Price Tags”, (recent issues at www.pricetags.ca), as well as this blog.

The California Transit Association (CTA) is a statewide organization whose mission is to “support the needs of California's public transit systems through advocacy and education”. Visit this website to keep yourself up to date on statewide issues related to public transit.

Caltrans is the state agency responsible for highway, bridge, and rail transportation planning, construction and maintenance. This site is for Caltrans District 5, which includes Santa Cruz County.

The Sightline Institute (formerly Northwest Environment Watch) is a not-for-profit research and communication center—a think tank—based in Seattle. It was founded in 1993 by Alan Durning. Sightline's mission is to bring about sustainability—a healthy, lasting prosperity grounded in place. It is reknowned for its “well-documented independent research and cogent, accessible analysis”.

The American Public Transportation Association is a large organization that is a strong advocate for public transportation nation-wide. Their news releases appear regularly. This is a site worth frequent monitoring.

The Surface Transportation Policy Partnership (STPP), which until recently was called the Surface Transportation Policy Project, is a nation-wide organization devoted to transportation issues, with a particular emphasis on transportation planning for sensible community design. Their excellent Transportation Guide, entitled From the Margins to the Mainstream is a 117-page document that is also available from our site right here.

RideSpring is a Santa Cruz based, award-winning web service that facilitates carpooling and transportation modes that avoid the use of the single-occupant automobile. Founded in 2005 by Paul McGrath, it contracts with employers both within the County and elsewhere, and rewards employees for getting to work by means other than the SOV. It currently has contracts with the City of Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz County, the Palo Alto based law firm of Cooley Godward Kronish, the nationwide law firm of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, SAP, and most recently the national law firm of Fenwick & West, LLP. RideSpring promises to be an effective means to reduce our carbon footprint.

Ecology Action, based in Santa Cruz, has been “Achieving community and environmental excellence through partnership and innovation since Earth Day 1970”. It's a large organization, with numerous beneficial projects underway throughout California. They are now located in the former Santa Cruz Sentinel building in downtown Santa Cruz at 877 Cedar Street, a building that has been extensively remodeled to transform it into a state-of-the-art Green Building.

The Ventana Chapter of the Sierra Club is one of our participating organizations.

Mission Pedestrian, was founded in 1997 by a small group of Mission Street neighbors with the immediate goal of getting Caltrans to restripe Mission Street crosswalks. (They succeeded!) Mission Pedestrian is another of our participating organizations. They now work more broadly to enhance pedestrian-related infrastructure.

Friends of the Rail & Trail, yet another of our participating organizations, has worked to accomplish the public acquisition of the 31-mile Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line, and to see that a pedestrian and bicycle trail is constructed adjacent to the tracks. See also this link for more information related to rail issues in Santa Cruz County.

Pogonip Watch, a new website hosted by Friends of the Pogonip, is devoted to the stewardship of the Pogonip. Among their efforts is to advocate for a new Rail Trail adjacent to the Big Trees Railroad tracks for bicyclists and pedestrians.

Founded in 1991, People Power is Santa Cruz County's premier bicycle advocacy organization, promoting bicycle use and other modes of human-powered transportation. People Power is another of our participating organizations.