Murray Street Bridge: Petition and Common Sense Prevail

Written By Doug Erickson

The Murray Street Bridge fight was never really about asphalt or algorithms. It was about whether ordinary people, living with the daily consequences of a decision, can still bend the arc of local government toward reality.

This week, the petition urging the City of Santa Cruz to implement a two-way automated signal on the Murray Street Bridge prevailed. That matters, not because a petition is magical paper that turns into policy, but because it signals something rarer: feedback loops working. Residents identified the problem, proposed a practical fix, organized around it, and the city moved. That is not always how this story goes.

There is a temptation to treat “civic engagement” as a moral hobby, something you do to feel virtuous while the machine does whatever it was going to do anyway. But sometimes the machine actually listens. Sometimes common sense is not just a slogan, it is a coalition.

And yes, petitions can work. Not because they’re loud, but because they’re legible: a clear ask, a measurable public, a decision-makers’ map of what will and won’t fly.

So take the win. Enjoy the green light. Then stay tuned for more green lights from our amazing city government. Because apparently, miracles happen when people insist on them.

Doug Erickson
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