For some years now, I have renamed the traffic dept to the traffic obstruction dept. Has anyone else noticed the stealing of a complete vehicle lane for bicycles near Alamar? The elections are coming up (vote no on prop 50) and a good time to remind these mindless politicians who they work for.
Interesting that road expansion projects require extensive CEQA analyses, but the ‘road diet’ projects (reduce traffic capacity) receive very little review…15-Minute cities, what could go wrong?
Just walked that part of town last afternoon - West Downtown - to see the pretty spectacular Halloween decorations on the 1500 block of DeLaVina Street.
Twice, high speed bike riders made us scatter off the SIDEWALK, when the city put in two bike paths for this part of town on Bath and Castillo.
One more example of non-organic planning, since I rarely if ever see anyone on the official bike paths. But knocking off two seniors on the sidewalks, still seems to be a remaining organic problem in this town.
Great article. What the heck is going on when the city councils listen to inexperienced traffic planners and allow their ideas to ruin a tested create chaos. They may want everyone to be on a bike, but they should look around and realize that’s not reality.
Santa Barbara traffic is also ia mess. And, we all see the disaster State Street has become.
It’s time that students from out of town should vote in their own towns. Not ours. That’s part of the problem.
A bigger problem than students is the number of GOP and NPPs who choose not to vote. Look at Prop 50 ballot turnout updates. Democrats are organized, unified, and message their voters. https://abev.optiqdata.com/
Democrats and their government employee unions have an existential need to game the system - their own paychecks, perks and pensions. That immediate and direct motivation and GOTV discipline is lacking in GOP and Independents.
Not sure how any GOP/Independent opposition can ever counter this immediate Democrat neediness to vote in their own direct favor. We just get hit slowly with higher taxes, loss of private property, incompetent government management, and sustained waste, fraud and abuse.
Thank you, Scott. My family bought a house in Goleta (although zip-wise Snta Barbara) in 1961 and I live in it now. I love Goleta. I remember attending a production of Walter Tompkins Goleta the Good Land when I was a little kid — the staging included actual horse riding so I was entranced. Goleta is the Good Land but it's treated like the Dumping Land. I am so tired of this. They sent mudslide debris to Goleta because it would have hurt the image of Montecito. They send us the homeless they don't want to deal with. They won't battle the Fed for us against airport noise but they'll have No Kings marches against the Feds for illegals. But the worst is when they think they're doing us a favor, like with the nonsensical and destructive towards businesses parking on Hollister. Or the you-could-be-in-hell-anywhere new Hollister Avenue.
My husband and I both voted no on 50. We have unofficially moved out of California, but until it is official we will continue to vote red. It is so sad what has become of our once glorious state. I still come to Santa Barbara often and every time I go through I feel claustrophobic and stressed out. I look around and see others feel the same way. I don't understand why they want to destroy business on State Street and now Hollister. It's sad but, unfortunately, typical.
Got mine done, also. From Panama. Have to search for someone with a fax machine, but a friend’s construction business still has one. No on 50, but being from Carpinteria before moving here full time, I’m used to being contrary to so many friends. It’s not looking good there. 🤷🏻♂️
Speaking of Alamar yes I live off a side street El Vedado it has turned into a nightmare trying to get off our street. It was bad before next to impossible now.
Cars bicycles E bikes trucks flying down State Street with that slight great trying to beat the red light at Alamar in the last two weeks. There’s been two accidents alone. More people are running red lights in Santa Barbara that ever before. What a freaking joke. i’m waiting for the big one at Alamar cause it’s only a matter of time.
As a Goleta resident, I have to take issue with the Hollister corridor through Old Town. It would seem to me that “Project Connect” was an abstract failure and huge waste of tax dollars. If you want to chase away business and patrons, this is the plan! Maybe the City Council should have renamed it “Project Disconnect?”
It should be clear to all that the entire focus from our lefty run local government is to get us out of our cars!
All at the same time the County is trying to ban all local oil production. Do we see a trend?
Finally, does anyone have an idea about the current costs of bicycle lanes and infrastructure? I sure don’t, but I know it’s in the $10’s of millions. Ironically, bike commuters and owners pay zero taxes or user fees. Many of which now are unlicensed, motorized vehicles.
Something has got to give because there is a total lack of street paving and repairs which should be ongoing and prioritized.
Hollister is a Council made disaster. Goleta Council hates private business except for tax generated revenues. Thank goodness, in anticipation of more government imposed costs, after over 75 years, family owned Moss Motors relocated to Virginia a major portion of operations. Then in April the business was sold in the nick of time.Located on Rutherford, off Hollister, its gridlock to access for employees, wasting their valuable time. I noticed the customer showroom is now closed. I curse whenever I must go on Hollister. Who elects fools?
Changes need to be a lot more responsive and organic. Rather than these theoretical social engineering exercises, based upon some unproven academic models. Stop hiring young "environmental studies" majors in city planning departments. Unless they expect to be long time assistants gaining real world experiences, and not immediate policy team leaders.
Academics will never substitute for common sense experience, when it comes to planning our communities. Solve problems that exist with thoughtful and responsive pragmatism. Stop creating even more more problems, by attempting to create what never can be.
(Eg: Unused bike paths robbing streets of parking, a 10 block long "pedestrian mall" State Street, view-blocking high-rise "affordable" housing .....)
Good article Scott. The fix from the City is of course the extension of Ekwell from Fairview to Kellogg to reduce traffic on Hollister. The flaw is that the traffic STILL can't leave Goleta without going through the Fairview or Kellogg interchange, like it is now. I don't believe there is THAT much traffic in Old Town that needs to just move around.
Why did Goleta Council want to make its only Community Center and the Boys Club more difficult to access for community constituents? All I hear are complaints.
Democrat Biker bureaucrats rule SB and Goleta. The CEO of the Downtown Assoc is a biker, too. Come to Eastside. Exit 101 Southbound at Milpas to experience gridlock, and added dangers to pedestrians. Council destroyed a previously functional neighborhood. Cars do illegal (courtesy) 3-point turns around Milpas installed permanent concrete barricade, when exiting 101 as traffic backs up. Marborg huge trucks need room to navigate!
Next, enter the SB Council created MAZE from closure of Alisos street to cars. Vehicles must go 3-6 blocks towards mountains to get to Milpas! If on Haley trying to get to CVS on Gutierrez a driver must go 2 blocks up, one block over, another block down. It’s a dangerous maze requiring an armored truck to ram thru millions of wasted dollars in concrete . In the chaos, I fear for Eastside pedestrians and kids walking to school.
The Etruscans in 900-700 BCE, decided the straight grid network for streets in their ancient communities were the best and safest transportation planning option. For people, carts and fire/emergency responses. Those mattered back then too. They planned their streets based upon organic needs; not theories.
Arab souks were intentionally created to be winding, dead ended and blind cornered to keep the invading pirates out. They planned their streets based upon organic needs; not theories.
Thank you for writing. Driving through old town Goleta was slow with four lanes (plus) before the colorful street studded change. Now, it's more than twice as slow with two lanes. This egress and disaster escape road is now constricted and dysfunctional. The same is true with Cathederal Oaks's lane reductions. Taxpayers have lost control of the "purse!"
This morning I went from SB to a medical appointment at Cottage Goleta Hospital, and exited 101 to 217 to Hollister; expecting a quick left turn and down to the lot. What was I thinking? No left turn now, massive disruptive construction, so I joined a swarm of drivers circling and pivoting trying to get oriented ... looping through the Witness Tree lot with a sad glance toward McMullen's auto sales lot, a wonderful man put out of business years ago in anticipation of this useless boondoggle of State Highway Funds. Like so many locals I avoid Old Town now.
Lowest number of rentals on State Street reported now in Noozhawk in two years, shows how "effective" closing State Street down has been. Opening it up instead primarily for marauding bike riders has not created a commercial downtown boon in Santa Barbara.
I lived in Goleta for many years, and fully appreciate your dillema. Visiting a family member recently, I got a first hand look at the resulting traffic problems. Ugh.
I am a rural desert resident now, and we are not free of unwelcomed projects like this. Sometimes it's an ill concieved state project, sometimes it's a proposal by a developer for a project that is a bad fit for our community. Either way, it pays to get active, and do so early before the ground is broken or the asphalt is rolled.
We don't win them all, but with concerned citizen involvement we have had some wins. Projects successfully stopped, others where mitigations were negotiated. Citizen involvement matters! Be loud. Be persistent. Organize and recruit like minded community members. Raise funds for legal council. Well timed litigation can sometimes win the day.
Thanks for hanging in Scott, after so many years and so many set-back. I have always listened to your clear voice for decades (?) now - Las Entradas in its very wee infancy- it was loud and clear. Turtles do win ...eventually. Plus we get harder and harder shells in the process. .............What a brilliant article.
City ‘planners’ need to know the one thing I’ve been grinding my kid about throughout his life - 'if it’s working. . . _Leave Siht Alone !_ 90% of “improvements” turn out to be complicated, confusing and unnecessary !
For some years now, I have renamed the traffic dept to the traffic obstruction dept. Has anyone else noticed the stealing of a complete vehicle lane for bicycles near Alamar? The elections are coming up (vote no on prop 50) and a good time to remind these mindless politicians who they work for.
Interesting that road expansion projects require extensive CEQA analyses, but the ‘road diet’ projects (reduce traffic capacity) receive very little review…15-Minute cities, what could go wrong?
Just walked that part of town last afternoon - West Downtown - to see the pretty spectacular Halloween decorations on the 1500 block of DeLaVina Street.
Twice, high speed bike riders made us scatter off the SIDEWALK, when the city put in two bike paths for this part of town on Bath and Castillo.
One more example of non-organic planning, since I rarely if ever see anyone on the official bike paths. But knocking off two seniors on the sidewalks, still seems to be a remaining organic problem in this town.
Great article. What the heck is going on when the city councils listen to inexperienced traffic planners and allow their ideas to ruin a tested create chaos. They may want everyone to be on a bike, but they should look around and realize that’s not reality.
Santa Barbara traffic is also ia mess. And, we all see the disaster State Street has become.
It’s time that students from out of town should vote in their own towns. Not ours. That’s part of the problem.
A bigger problem than students is the number of GOP and NPPs who choose not to vote. Look at Prop 50 ballot turnout updates. Democrats are organized, unified, and message their voters. https://abev.optiqdata.com/
Democrats and their government employee unions have an existential need to game the system - their own paychecks, perks and pensions. That immediate and direct motivation and GOTV discipline is lacking in GOP and Independents.
Not sure how any GOP/Independent opposition can ever counter this immediate Democrat neediness to vote in their own direct favor. We just get hit slowly with higher taxes, loss of private property, incompetent government management, and sustained waste, fraud and abuse.
Thank you, Scott. My family bought a house in Goleta (although zip-wise Snta Barbara) in 1961 and I live in it now. I love Goleta. I remember attending a production of Walter Tompkins Goleta the Good Land when I was a little kid — the staging included actual horse riding so I was entranced. Goleta is the Good Land but it's treated like the Dumping Land. I am so tired of this. They sent mudslide debris to Goleta because it would have hurt the image of Montecito. They send us the homeless they don't want to deal with. They won't battle the Fed for us against airport noise but they'll have No Kings marches against the Feds for illegals. But the worst is when they think they're doing us a favor, like with the nonsensical and destructive towards businesses parking on Hollister. Or the you-could-be-in-hell-anywhere new Hollister Avenue.
My husband and I both voted no on 50. We have unofficially moved out of California, but until it is official we will continue to vote red. It is so sad what has become of our once glorious state. I still come to Santa Barbara often and every time I go through I feel claustrophobic and stressed out. I look around and see others feel the same way. I don't understand why they want to destroy business on State Street and now Hollister. It's sad but, unfortunately, typical.
Thank you for voting! More need to. Here’s an update on ballot return by party, age, gender, … https://abev.optiqdata.com/
Interesting, thank you!
Got mine done, also. From Panama. Have to search for someone with a fax machine, but a friend’s construction business still has one. No on 50, but being from Carpinteria before moving here full time, I’m used to being contrary to so many friends. It’s not looking good there. 🤷🏻♂️
Speaking of Alamar yes I live off a side street El Vedado it has turned into a nightmare trying to get off our street. It was bad before next to impossible now.
Cars bicycles E bikes trucks flying down State Street with that slight great trying to beat the red light at Alamar in the last two weeks. There’s been two accidents alone. More people are running red lights in Santa Barbara that ever before. What a freaking joke. i’m waiting for the big one at Alamar cause it’s only a matter of time.
Great article, Scott. With regards to Hollister Ave., an old saying used by many engineers' states, "If it ain't broke, then don't fix it."
How can you tell the engineer at the dinner party?
John same as "Why do engineers love their jobs?" Because they get to build dreams!
We Engineers are just Dream Weavers and sometimes Musicians>>>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZKuzwPOefs
"And leave tomorrow Behind" Bye Bye Goleta and Santa Barbara
PS1 - What’s an electrical engineer’s favorite rock band? AC/DC
AC/DC "Highway to Hell" that is Goleta Road Works Going to H***>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEPmA3USJdI
As a Goleta resident, I have to take issue with the Hollister corridor through Old Town. It would seem to me that “Project Connect” was an abstract failure and huge waste of tax dollars. If you want to chase away business and patrons, this is the plan! Maybe the City Council should have renamed it “Project Disconnect?”
It should be clear to all that the entire focus from our lefty run local government is to get us out of our cars!
All at the same time the County is trying to ban all local oil production. Do we see a trend?
Finally, does anyone have an idea about the current costs of bicycle lanes and infrastructure? I sure don’t, but I know it’s in the $10’s of millions. Ironically, bike commuters and owners pay zero taxes or user fees. Many of which now are unlicensed, motorized vehicles.
Something has got to give because there is a total lack of street paving and repairs which should be ongoing and prioritized.
Hollister is a Council made disaster. Goleta Council hates private business except for tax generated revenues. Thank goodness, in anticipation of more government imposed costs, after over 75 years, family owned Moss Motors relocated to Virginia a major portion of operations. Then in April the business was sold in the nick of time.Located on Rutherford, off Hollister, its gridlock to access for employees, wasting their valuable time. I noticed the customer showroom is now closed. I curse whenever I must go on Hollister. Who elects fools?
Changes need to be a lot more responsive and organic. Rather than these theoretical social engineering exercises, based upon some unproven academic models. Stop hiring young "environmental studies" majors in city planning departments. Unless they expect to be long time assistants gaining real world experiences, and not immediate policy team leaders.
Academics will never substitute for common sense experience, when it comes to planning our communities. Solve problems that exist with thoughtful and responsive pragmatism. Stop creating even more more problems, by attempting to create what never can be.
(Eg: Unused bike paths robbing streets of parking, a 10 block long "pedestrian mall" State Street, view-blocking high-rise "affordable" housing .....)
Agree.
Good article Scott. The fix from the City is of course the extension of Ekwell from Fairview to Kellogg to reduce traffic on Hollister. The flaw is that the traffic STILL can't leave Goleta without going through the Fairview or Kellogg interchange, like it is now. I don't believe there is THAT much traffic in Old Town that needs to just move around.
Why did Goleta Council want to make its only Community Center and the Boys Club more difficult to access for community constituents? All I hear are complaints.
Democrat Biker bureaucrats rule SB and Goleta. The CEO of the Downtown Assoc is a biker, too. Come to Eastside. Exit 101 Southbound at Milpas to experience gridlock, and added dangers to pedestrians. Council destroyed a previously functional neighborhood. Cars do illegal (courtesy) 3-point turns around Milpas installed permanent concrete barricade, when exiting 101 as traffic backs up. Marborg huge trucks need room to navigate!
Next, enter the SB Council created MAZE from closure of Alisos street to cars. Vehicles must go 3-6 blocks towards mountains to get to Milpas! If on Haley trying to get to CVS on Gutierrez a driver must go 2 blocks up, one block over, another block down. It’s a dangerous maze requiring an armored truck to ram thru millions of wasted dollars in concrete . In the chaos, I fear for Eastside pedestrians and kids walking to school.
The Etruscans in 900-700 BCE, decided the straight grid network for streets in their ancient communities were the best and safest transportation planning option. For people, carts and fire/emergency responses. Those mattered back then too. They planned their streets based upon organic needs; not theories.
Arab souks were intentionally created to be winding, dead ended and blind cornered to keep the invading pirates out. They planned their streets based upon organic needs; not theories.
Thank you for writing. Driving through old town Goleta was slow with four lanes (plus) before the colorful street studded change. Now, it's more than twice as slow with two lanes. This egress and disaster escape road is now constricted and dysfunctional. The same is true with Cathederal Oaks's lane reductions. Taxpayers have lost control of the "purse!"
This morning I went from SB to a medical appointment at Cottage Goleta Hospital, and exited 101 to 217 to Hollister; expecting a quick left turn and down to the lot. What was I thinking? No left turn now, massive disruptive construction, so I joined a swarm of drivers circling and pivoting trying to get oriented ... looping through the Witness Tree lot with a sad glance toward McMullen's auto sales lot, a wonderful man put out of business years ago in anticipation of this useless boondoggle of State Highway Funds. Like so many locals I avoid Old Town now.
Lowest number of rentals on State Street reported now in Noozhawk in two years, shows how "effective" closing State Street down has been. Opening it up instead primarily for marauding bike riders has not created a commercial downtown boon in Santa Barbara.
I lived in Goleta for many years, and fully appreciate your dillema. Visiting a family member recently, I got a first hand look at the resulting traffic problems. Ugh.
I am a rural desert resident now, and we are not free of unwelcomed projects like this. Sometimes it's an ill concieved state project, sometimes it's a proposal by a developer for a project that is a bad fit for our community. Either way, it pays to get active, and do so early before the ground is broken or the asphalt is rolled.
We don't win them all, but with concerned citizen involvement we have had some wins. Projects successfully stopped, others where mitigations were negotiated. Citizen involvement matters! Be loud. Be persistent. Organize and recruit like minded community members. Raise funds for legal council. Well timed litigation can sometimes win the day.
A sympathetic former Goleta resident.
Thanks for the comments either pro or con.
For those of you who know me here is my comment .... What a brilliant article.....
Come on ..... Laugh with me while I type this comment......*S*
Thanks for hanging in Scott, after so many years and so many set-back. I have always listened to your clear voice for decades (?) now - Las Entradas in its very wee infancy- it was loud and clear. Turtles do win ...eventually. Plus we get harder and harder shells in the process. .............What a brilliant article.
City ‘planners’ need to know the one thing I’ve been grinding my kid about throughout his life - 'if it’s working. . . _Leave Siht Alone !_ 90% of “improvements” turn out to be complicated, confusing and unnecessary !