Fire Chiefs and Residents Push for Permanent Highway 9 Slide Repairs
By Jim Helmer
In December, the Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) released its draft 2050 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) — a 25-year spending plan that is a first step in securing federal, state, and local funding — for public review. Fire Chiefs from Ben Lomond, Boulder Creek, and Zayante were dismayed to find no funding identified for permanent repairs to the massive slide on Highway 9 just south of Highlands Park. On behalf of their Boards, the chiefs wrote to the RTC urging it to press Caltrans to build a permanent retaining wall set back from the current temporary concrete barriers and to apply erosion control on the slide face.
All three chiefs pointed to the CZU fires of 2020 as proof of the highway’s critical role. Boulder Creek Chief Mark Bingham wrote that Highway 9 southbound “made the difference between success and failure of the CZU evacuation order.” Ben Lomond Chief Stacie Brownlee noted that the temporary repairs left no shoulder and no safe space for pedestrians or cyclists, and that closures force thousands of motorists onto the same narrow residential roads — Glen Arbor, Quail Hollow, and E. Zayante — that serve as emergency response routes. Chief Maxwell added that the aging Quail Hollow Bridge was never designed for commercial truck traffic, and that despite Zayante Fire advocating for its replacement since 2000, it remains unfunded in the 2050 Plan.
Caltrans, the County, and the RTC jointly develop these long-range spending plans, updated every four to five years. The next opportunity to add funding won’t come until the 2055 Plan is adopted in 2029 at the earliest. Chief Maxwell also noted that his department is not on the RTC’s stakeholder list, and called for all Special Fire Districts countywide to be added.
The Ben Lomond Village Alliance (BLVA) went further in its letter, proposing a new wall at the slide’s base connecting to the existing wall at the Glen Arbor signal — stabilizing the hillside, allowing relocation of wooden power poles, and adding formal drainage. The extra width, the BLVA argues, could also accommodate a pedestrian and bicycle path linking Glen Arbor neighborhoods to Highlands Park, consistent with the 2019 Highway 9 Complete Streets Plan.
Longtime residents Steve and Vivian Leib, whose home fronts Highway 9 near the Glen Arbor signal, put it plainly: “It saddens us that we would never consider walking or biking to Highlands Park, a mere quarter mile away, for fear of our lives. We beseech you to provide safe pedestrian/bicycle passage along that stretch of highway.”
RTC Planner Tommy Travers explained that while the RTC can fund its own highway projects, state highway repairs fall to Caltrans through its SHOPP program (State Highway Operation and Protection Program), which funds emergency repairs and roadway preservation. The slide’s permanent repair isn’t a line-item project, but Caltrans could draw from the $400+ million in SHOPP funds projected for the county’s six state highways over 25 years — the same funding source used for the 2023 temporary repairs and recent work near Irwin Way. The final 2050 RTP will be adopted in June; the 2055 review process begins in roughly two and a half years.
The Holiday Slide pictured today with repair work unfinished. The 2023 Holiday Slide was a major landslide near Glen Arbor Road and Holiday Lane in Ben Lomond. The slide caused long term closures of Highway 9 and required significant repairs by Caltrans and PG&E. Photo by Jim Helmer
Who to Contact
Contact Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) planner Tommy Travers urging them to press Caltrans to fund permanent repairs through the SHOPP program. info@sccrtc.org
Residents can also contact Caltrans directly and ask them to prioritize the slide’s permanent repair using SHOPP funds — the same funding pool that covered the 2023 temporary repairs. Info-d5@dot.ca.gov
The County, Caltrans, and RTC work together on these long-range spending plans, so contacting Santa Cruz County D5 Supervisor Monica Martinez is also worthwhile. monica.martinez@santacruzcountyca.gov and fifth.district@santacruzcountyca.gov
Jim Helmer is a Ben Lomond resident and the Better Streets Chair for the Ben Lomond Village Alliance.
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