CityofSantaBarbara
Source: City of Santa Barbara
Community feedback is requested. Join us on Zoom or in-person to talk about a possible new bicycle and pedestrian freeway overcrossing between the Eastside and the vicinity of Dwight Murphy Field. The Zoom webinar will be October 25. Register at SantaBarbaraCA.gov/LECC. The in-person meeting will be on October 30 outside of the Franklin Center, 1136 E. Montecito Street.
More information here: https://www.santabarbaraca.gov/civicax/filebank/blobdload.aspx?BlobID=240319
Overhead crossings have to be a lot cheaper than underpasses when built after the fact. In addition they are more public and therefore more safe from unsavory things. There is no reason why an overpass cannot be aesthetically well designed which would be a bonus. The idea that such a device would interfere with mountain views is pretty far out. My only concern would be that the plan is to build something in a place that will then demand more bicycle access as part of the bicycle mafia’s continuing intrusion into neighborhoods. That said, Canada looks like a good point of departure from the north of the freeway directly to the general area of the soccer fields.
I disagree. I think there is very little that can be done to make a massive (and it will be MASSIVE, it needs to pass 15+ feet, probably more, over the top of the freeway, plus the height of the structure itself) bridge aesthetically pleasing. Also, bicycle mafia, really?
better yet, how about put some enforcement out to keep pedestrains from taking over a clearly marked bicycle path so we don’t have to continuously swerve and stop to avoid eating sand or hitting some idiot that wants to be over entitled and use a bike path as their walk way when there is a big ol sidewalk about 10 feet away that us cyclists supposedly can’t ride on. yeah i think that is a better way to spend some tax money. BTW, i use an air horn now on those walkers in my way. perfectly legal and quite fun. i’m sure many of you will have something to say about this, but so what, i will continue to use a boat’s air horn if you are walking in the middle of a bike path.
Design it like the St. Louis Arch. Make that a local challenge for the riders. Then we could hang a picture of the current mayor from the top, (like Mao), so the tourists would be able to pick him/her out when they walk State Street while looking at the bums/hobos/transients/squatters that bring a special ambiance to the City of Paradise.
Patrick, bicyclists apparently do not want to ‘peddle further’ to get where they want to go. They want everyone else to get out of the way. Witness the intrusion of bicycle lanes in residential areas to facilitate ‘direct’ routes for bikers that have removed parking and promise to create one way streets on the Westside. This is the agenda of what is called the ‘bicycle mafia’ by me and others. They have wormed their way into city planning and are bent on getting what they want. Look, for example, at the comments of Zero (4:56 p.m.).
I am an avid bike rider and ride my bike around town whenever possible, for both errands and recreation. However, I’d personally hate to see an overhead over-crossing in this area. It would add to the “LA-ness” of Santa Barbara and be a visual distraction from the gorgeous views of the mountains from the freeway. Santa Barbara is a beautiful place, enjoy the ride, take a deep breath, and peddle a bit further to get from one side of the freeway to the other.
Agreed. I don’t see a point to an overhead crossing in this area.
I’m also a bicyclist and I want a better UNDERPASS at Cabrillo / Montecito. I don’t get why we need overpasses? So weird.
And the overpass would have to be built in such a way as to deter suicides — think of the Cold Spring bridge. Seems this proposal would be very expensive (someone pays for grants!) and very ugly from 101 and very detrimental to the neighborhood in the amount of space required for access.
This sounds like a combination of Parks plus Transportation, out of control City departments.
Dream: If only Caltrans had put the freeway underground instead. Downtown would be completely different in a good way. (Yes, expensive, water table/creek issues, yada yada.)
RHS, so people on bikes want everyone else to get out of their way? How can you speak for every person in town that rides a bike? That is a bit self absorbed don’t you think? Witness the intrusion of bike lanes? Are you kidding? Those lanes are there to keep the bikes in a lane and not in the way of the cars, and to prevent injury and accidents. This town is really big with alternative forms of transportation. Very sorry you feel that the roads are only for cars. If so, let’s be really specific then, these roads were made for buggies and small vehicles. They haven’t made them wider because they can’t. There are also too many cars in town for our small, narrow roads. Hence the constant on street parking. Frankly the onstreet parking is more of a nuisance than not. So if that’s your gripe, go pay for parking in a lot downtown and walk home. Wormed our way into city planning and are bent on getting what they want. That’s a quote from you. Listen dude, i have been here for decades and pay taxes. I’ve done community service as a volunteer and have helped the local bicycle program for kids in town. What have you done to help the commmunity?
Bike mafia. Got it. Since you’re dropping your mentality to that of a 5th grader, so then i will now refer to you as the bike gestapo. Or bicycle fascist. Which would you prefer?
Then you single me out, why? Because i stood up and want a safe place for my children and I to ride bikes? yeah i’m a total monster for that. So selfish too! Because you know…there isn’t anyone else riding bikes aside of me in town. Right? Yeah, you never see hundreds of people. riding their bikes or the speedy rental electric bikes provided by the city, that are all over downtown and the water front and Goleta too, you never see any of them right? Your comments and statements are just irrational at best and slightly unhinged and weird. Please go back into your cave, or under the rock where you live and cry some more.