The board, acting as the local lead for the project, previously reviewed the segments at its March 26 meeting and while it approved a series of environmental documents, it declined to move forward with the project itself, citing concerns about tree removal and cost overruns and asked its staff to explore ways to limit both.
"It's no guarantee that we're going to be able to do this project ultimately; that we'll have the money," said Andy Schiffrin, the alternate for Commissioner Justin Cummings. "But by approving the project or urging the county to approve the project we make it possible to potentially do it and we stay on track."
The crowd's ire was directed at supervisors Bruce McPherson and Manu Koenig who voted against the staff recommendations to approve designs for the multi-use trail next to the rail line and sunk the motion through a 2-2 split vote, citing environmental impact concerns and ballooning costs.
The trail will offer connections to 10 schools, 18 parks, 13 public beaches, two community centers and multiple residential neighborhoods and commercial areas, according to a release from the county.
Local transportation leaders have released a draft environmental impact report for a pair of Coastal Rail Trail segments running through the middle of Santa Cruz County and are encouraging the public to have a look.