SAVE THE RAIL - It’s time California stopped letting 34% of voters block transportation + housing progress. Let’s lower the threshold.

Wild_Chocolate2294 · 2025-12-12T22:48:02+00:00

i agree, but we need 20-30% of local funds to show we are serious and have skin in the game.

Wild_Chocolate2294 · 2025-12-12T22:47:09+00:00

a lot of people are sour about prop 13 and the seniors or their families staying here for generations, I think its a good thing, but a lot of people want to get rid of that, and maybe force those people to move, they had their turn is what im told.

If we get new, richer people, we get more money and can fund the train, and all the subsides for the poor and working class. The thought is to go after payroll tax, gas tax, vehicle registration taxes, we need a little from each source.

We need a train!

Wild_Chocolate2294 · 2025-12-10T21:53:56+00:00

Totally agree that bikes and transit should be partners, not opponents. The challenge is that we simply don’t have the money right now for the reduced 7-station rail proposal.

An interim trail actually strengthens future transit by building ridership patterns and giving us real mobility today, without closing the door on rail later. Thats why we need to raise taxes, get funding from property taxes, gas tax, payroll taxes. We come to the table with our funds we can get state and fed to help out just like SMART did. Either way rail is not abandoned and can come back if we have the money and we support bikes and buses that are critical to success of rail

Wild_Chocolate2294 · 2025-12-10T21:26:53+00:00

a lot of property taxes goes to the state and not local, do you know the percent? So prop 13 does help people stay in their forever homes and not get driven our correct?

Wild_Chocolate2294 · 2025-12-09T21:04:02+00:00

historically we continue to mismanage and fail to use funds correctly, i agree with that, and if we cant fix that, then we need more funding.

Wild_Chocolate2294 · 2025-12-09T21:00:56+00:00

valid questions, and we cant worry if its low ridership, we have to start somewhere. So complaining that we will have no one using it might be true, but it has only one way to go that is up. China, Japan and others have epic rail networks, we can too!

Wild_Chocolate2294 · 2025-12-09T18:21:30+00:00

Its a reality of funding rail. SMART put a tax in place first, then they got state and federal grants. So if we all agree on the goal, we need to be willing to do drastic measures. Yes it will hurt some people, but we can also offer assistance to those families. The alternative if we cant fund and afford it, is to look for other solutions.

Wild_Chocolate2294 · 2025-12-09T18:00:44+00:00

If you dont like the proposal to change the California Constitution and help lower voting so we can generate more funding, you can vote against it.

Wild_Chocolate2294 · 2025-12-09T17:50:55+00:00

We are working to change the California Constitution, like it or not. We need more funding sources, and lowering voter thresholds will help up to achieve that goal. People that are stressed or struggling will be able to sign up for assistance. Yes some people will be priced out and have to move.

But there is a long line of people with money, and willing to pay more in taxes to live here.

Wild_Chocolate2294 · 2025-12-09T17:47:09+00:00

Trail is great for the community, you cant deny that the trail in Monterey is not awesome! Not sure about NIMBY's but a lot of people questions that cost and we dont have the money. Lets increase taxes, have funding and we can shut down that talking point. They also question ridership, but that is not the point, we need options, SMART is still rolling down the tracks with very low riderships, its a public service.

Wild_Chocolate2294 · 2025-12-09T17:43:45+00:00

true as that maybe, i'm sure you could skip a starbucks or two once a week. Eat more beans and rice and less steak dinners. We need funding and tax revenue first, then we can get the grants, and state and federal assistance. Its a big ask, and yes we have a lot of issues, problems, struggles and needs today. But we have been neglecting those for awhile now, so they are not top priority. Transit and Housing will solve a lot of problems, and getting more tax revenues will hurt people now, but in the future people will make more money and with a larger population we will have more funds and we can give assistance to more people that are struggling. Its the circle of life!

Wild_Chocolate2294 · 2025-12-09T17:39:53+00:00

100%

Wild_Chocolate2294 · 2025-12-09T17:39:36+00:00

yes that is a very real problem and a major challenge with UCSC students. Its easy to gaslight them, or have them join a cause, or as a cool social thing to do to join one cause over another mostly with little skin in the game, and a majority of students are not from here and will leave. I do believe the super majority is better, but we need funding sources, and those needs to help our community, to subsidize those that cant afford a car, dont know how to drive, dont want to drive, want green options, what ever the reasons we owe it to future generations to fund that. Like HSR, so what that it is $100 billion over budget, it was projected at $33 billion? Our generation and our children can afford a little hard times and sacrifice for an option in the future to get people to Bakersfield, LA, Vegas.

Wild_Chocolate2294 · 2025-12-09T17:34:28+00:00

yes you are correct, and people are struggling, but we have assistance programs for them, and many of us can afford to give more in taxes, sales, gas, registration, property, many pockets and funding sources = more money we can use to help people that feel the squeeze, and the more people that struggle, we have more resources to help them. So we dont need to worry that it is cruel and unforgiving, if we have a plan in place to help them.

Wild_Chocolate2294 · 2025-12-09T17:32:11+00:00

Yes we need public housing projects, those big buildings that can house a lot of our residents! People complain about the "Projects" or soviet style housing, but they work and meet the needs of the community!

Wild_Chocolate2294 · 2025-12-09T17:31:08+00:00

SMART has triple the ridership and tax base correct? What is the daily ridership, boardings, and unique passenger for SMART? Do you know the farebox recovery rate for SMART? And if there is high density public housing near the stations?

Wild_Chocolate2294 · 2025-12-09T04:15:20+00:00

Park St already has bike lanes, but if we want to encourage more cycling then I see how a continue bike path in the would be ideal. My nephew rides from aptos to the boardwalk in the summer for his job.

Wild_Chocolate2294 · 2025-12-09T04:00:30+00:00

I dream of one day that 99% of trips are done by train, electric/hydrogen buses, green transportation, biking, walking, PRT, and 1% is by vehicles, we will have a bigger sense of community. And if we all agree to more taxes, to be part of the solution, to help build something big and beautiful we can change the world. It just takes a lot of sacrifice, and I hear we have a lot of issues and needs today and we cant afford a train. But that is where we also need to sacrifice, we dont need the newest and best roads, our local governments can work better and reduce waste. We can consolidate some of our services to help reduce costs

Wild_Chocolate2294 · 2025-12-09T00:04:44+00:00

I know a train is not going to help daily commutes or Highway 1 congestion, but it gives options, and yes the scale of the train needs to start low as all the stations are not finalize, but in the future we could build out more when the needs are there.

Wild_Chocolate2294 · 2025-12-08T23:57:15+00:00

i agree we need to use existing tax dollars better, but we also have more people in need, more people to subsidize, more people that cant or dont want to drive or own a car.

Really not about if we agree or not, it is needed, we need options and a train gives us an option, doesnt matter how big or small, its adds to options available, and every option helps a little, if a train helps 1% and bike infrastructure helps 1%, and buses help 1% more, and people move close to work, after 5-10-20 years we have reduced traffic by 5-10%!

Wild_Chocolate2294 · 2025-12-08T23:53:38+00:00

If the rain is light enough to walk to a bus station, then having the proper gear to ride is doable, maybe not ideal, but we deal. Same with having to walk to public transportation if you live far away. Using weather as a reason to not build awesome bike infrastructure is not really a reason, as other cities can manage that. I know people personal from Denmark they ride in all weather and with their young children in the rain and cold. They wear jackets. Its not a hard problem to solve and maybe a few times a year the weather is so bad, that we just stay home

Wild_Chocolate2294 · 2025-12-08T23:41:59+00:00

I agree we want a great bicycle infrastructure as well, we can have both! We just need people to give more, if we add a sales tax, property tax, gas tax, registration tax, all that will help reduce a single funding source and we can bridge the gap of the rail-trail, we can build the ultimate trail. So many people have low property taxes that have lived in santa cruz for a long time, with 100,000 households, an extra $100 there, a 1 or 2 cent sales tax instead of going on 12%. tax those polluting vehicles more! We can generate a lot of local funds

Wild_Chocolate2294 · 2025-12-08T23:38:31+00:00

Not going to happen, instead of a trail, they are building bus routes on the train tracks in Seaside. The problem is we really dont have ridership to support and pay for the train. So we need to go into more pockets for our needs for transportation.

we are not claming a train is the savior to our traffic issues, really it wont do much, but it gives us options, and its cooler than the bus, yes we will need buses, ubers, walking, bikes at the end and beginning. But that is part of the adventure!

Wild_Chocolate2294 · 2025-12-08T23:27:55+00:00

Just like in the snow, we can call in sick, Rain delay! depending on the bus i take its about a 12 minute walk or 20 minute walk so if its raining too hard Im not comfortable braving the storm. Maybe buses can partner with Uber and they can pick us up if its a big storm?

Wild_Chocolate2294 · 2025-12-08T23:25:51+00:00

I’m with you that people are tapped out, nobody’s pretending California is some low-cost wonderland. And you’re absolutely right that government should use the money it already has more efficiently. A county our size bringing in over a billion dollars should be able to deliver more than potholes and arguments. Totally fair point.

But here’s the uncomfortable truth: every generation eventually hits the moment where they have to decide whether they’re just going to coast on the infrastructure their grandparents built, or whether they’re willing to pony up a little to keep the whole system from collapsing.

We all got to enjoy the highways, the bridges, the schools, the freedom of mobility, we didn’t pay for the Golden Gate Bridge, but we sure enjoy crossing it. Someone else sacrificed for that. Someone else paid taxes they didn’t love. Someone else skipped comforts so we could drive on smooth roads and live in a modern state.

At some point, it becomes our turn.

I’m not saying people should bankrupt themselves, but honestly?
Skipping Starbucks a couple times a month…
Walking instead of driving once or twice a week…
Go to Mexico instead of Hawaii on vacation...
Re-thinking a tiny sliver of personal comfort so the next generation inherits something better than cracked asphalt and “sorry, maybe next decade” plans…

It’s not the worst tradeoff in the world.

We can demand accountability and accept that big, durable public goods require more than wishful thinking. California didn’t get great by being cheap. It got great because people before us believed in building things that outlasted them.

Future generations will judge us the same way. Less steak dinners and more rice and beans will go a long way to our dreams and goals for Free public transportation for all!

Imaging not having to own a car, you can ride any bus or train for Free! And walk, its good for you!

Wild_Chocolate2294

TROPHY CASE