Seaside is unfortunately bypassed by a majority of tourists visiting the Monterey Peninsula. Seaside also has a significant segment of its population that does not drive.
Traffic is also becoming significantly greater problem for our City. We abut Highway 1 and with a number of exits and major arterial streets must deal with traffic related not just to Seaside itself, but also traffic bound for nearby communities such as Monterey, Sand City, Del Rey Oaks, Marina and even Salinas.
More transportation options, particularly public transportation, can become a great asset for improving the City’s attractiveness to nonresidents and addressing the needs of many of its residents.
Proposed Solutions:
We need to bring rail service to the Monterey Peninsula. The Transportation Agency for Monterey County has been trying to bring rail service to the Peninsula for years. Initial plans were for the main Peninsula station to be in Seaside, but the council snubbed this idea a number of years ago, dealing a major blow to quickly bringing trains.
Just think how much improved Seaside’s commercial prospects would be with hundreds of rail tourists disembarking on Del Monte Boulevard close to planned developments on West Broadway and elsewhere in the West Broadway Urban Village. This would also take a significant number of vehicles off Highway 1, benefitting not only Seaside, but the entire Peninsula.
The ability to bring a station to Seaside is not gone, in fact, we can improve on it greatly. A multi-modal station needs to be considered. Rail service should be coupled with bus, parking/ride-share, bicycle, pedestrian and even alternative transit methods such as scooter/Segway rentals (and secure storage for owners of such vehicles connecting to bus and rail service).
Such a multi-modal station will greatly improve bus service not just for Seaside residents, but for the entire Peninsula. Improved transit services means better options for non-driving Seaside and other Peninsula residents to work at good jobs in areas possibly located further from their residence than now.
Paid for by Felix For Seaside City Council