Carbonera Drive Construction

Carbonera Neighbors asked the City of Santa Cruz what is going on with the seemingly endless construction on Carbonera Drive where it crosses over Carbonera creek.  The city has a long problematic history with a large sewage pump at that location.

Following is our inquiry and the city's response.

We find the response disheartening as it seems to indicate a failure to adequately plan the sequence of events and assure progress in an efficient and timely manner.

The City should not have commenced digging and blocking the street until they had squeezed much of the excess time out of the schedule and obtained strong commitments not only from the construction company but also from those utilities and others who are involved.

The City lets itself be dominated by utility companies.  (A city employee once told us that AT&T and Comcast run roughshod over the city - a fact that we experienced first hand when we had to pay to repair one of AT&Ts utility vaults that they did not maintain properly - we even had to pay for a city building permit that the City promised to refund but never did.)

It's perhaps not as obvious to other people in the Carbonera/Isbel area how much of a traffic mess this construction has become.  But I can look down the street and see cars playing chicken with one another as they come nose-to-nose in the constricted area.

-------- Forwarded Message --------

Subject:RE: Carbonera Drive construction - third month?

Date:Tue, 24 Aug 2021 23:00:11 +0000

From:Janice Bisgaard <JBisgaard@cityofsantacruz.com>
 

We appreciate your concern and appearance of non-activity, however, there is process to the construction of a new pumping facility and  utility regulator/sign off/permitting issues that cannot be rushed (Comcast, PG&E); contractor and sub-contractor schedules and supply logistics all are part of the process. The project is moving on schedule.

We apologize for the inconvenience and note that this is not an easy project given the scope and small footprint of the site.

The City is working in the public's best interest to ensure safe and efficient sanitary sewer conveyance for many years to come and the continued protection of our water resources.

We expect the project to conclude by the first week of September. 

If you care to read more, please scroll down to Carbonera Pump Station Replacement Project on this page.

Thank you,

Janice Bisgaard Community Relations Specialist

City of Santa Cruz Public Works Department

(831) 420-5166

-----Original Message-----
From: Carbonera Resident
Sent: Tuesday, August 24, 2021 2:40 PM
To: dl_CityPW
Cc: Martin Bernal
Subject: Carbonera Drive construction - third month?

Hello.

I live on Carbonera Drive in the city of Santa Cruz.

What is going on with the construction at the culvert where Carbonera Drive crosses Carbonera Creek?

That construction has been going for at least three months.

Progress seems glacial, or slower.

Carbonera Drive has been constricted for all of that time.  There have been many instances when cars going in opposite directions have been squeezed  so that they come nose to nose and one of them has to stop and back up.  That can be particularly dangerous given the fact that traffic normally drives far above the speed limit on Carbonera Drive - the speed bump is useless (people have learned that it has no effect at speeds above 40mph, and fast bicycles use it to lift off and get "air".)

Yet, there is rarely anyone working.  There are entire days, often several days in a row, when there are no people working and no vehicles from the construction company.

This project has been going on for what seems far, far too long.

Is it ever going to be completed?