Changes to Bus Routes Proposed for San Lorenzo Valley

More than a dozen San Lorenzo Valley residents made their voices heard at a public hearing regarding Santa Cruz County Metro budget cuts Monday at the Felton Community Hall.

Carolyn Derwing of the Santa Cruz Metro Transit District made several stops en route to describing the basics of proposed changes to service to address the various concerns of residents.

The route to Sylvan Road, five miles above the Mountain Store bus stop, was a concern for Bill Sagerty, 61, of Boulder Creek, who says he hasn't driven his out-of-commission truck in more than 10 years.

“It's only a 3½-mile trip on my bike down to the store,” Sagerty said. “It's about 15 minutes down to the store, and about 45 on the way back home. And the bike is always heavier on the way back.”

Derwing was also pressed by many in attendance, including Dylan Gregory, a 25-year-old Boulder Creek resident and San Jose State University graduate, on when the seemingly annual budget cuts will end.

Gregory said many students rely on the later-night trips on Route 35 to piece the long commute from various schools, including San Jose State University, to far-flung places in San Lorenzo Valley. He also questioned officials on when the Metro expects to stop making what seem to him like annual cuts at this point.

“The economy has not responded the way we hoped,” Derwing said. “It all depends on how the sales tax revenue goes in the future.”

Without more revenue source, the metro must cut $1.44 million for the fiscal year 2011-12. The proposed changes, including to the routes serving San Lorenzo Valley, will begin Sept. 15. Derwing reiterated that Metro is still in the proposal stages with the cuts and wants community input to make the least harmful cuts.

“The more information we have, the better, so we can make adjustments,” Derwing said.

• No routes serving SLV will be eliminated under the current proposal, but some routes will be shortened and departure times will be changed slightly.

• Route 35's latest departure will leave Santa Cruz at 10:30 p.m. rather than the current 11 p.m. 

• Route 35A will still serve the Boulder Creek Country Club, though not as late at night, and will not continue up the mountain to Big Basin.

• Route 34, which serves Sylvan Road and other areas beyond the Mountain Store, will not be eliminated but will depart from Felton at 3:20 p.m. rather than the present 2:35 p.m. scheduled trip.

The SCMTD is proposing that no routes or trips will be eliminated but warned at least “some [departures] will be more spread out, and not run as late.”

That didn't stop residents from sharing their feelings on possible cuts they see as crucial to their livelihoods, as well as safety.

One comment card began, “Hi, my name is Kim, and I relied on the bus to get to this meeting.”

She said gaps in the schedule made her venture to the meeting a five-hour trip, to get from her home in Boulder Creek to the Felton Community Hall and back home.

She also included safety in her argument, claiming that public transportation reduces cases of drunken driving in an area where most people live outside of walking distance of bars and clubs.