County Partners with Goleta Church to Install Obern Trail Bike Repair Station

By the Santa Barbara County Public Works Department

Community members in the Eastern Goleta Valley celebrated the installation of a bicycle repair station near the bridge at Arroyo Road and More Mesa Drive this weekend.

The station was a collaboration between Santa Barbara County Public Works and the Santa Barbara Seventh Day Adventist Church. After Transportation Division maintenance staff constructed a concrete pad on County property, the church purchased and installed the station. The church will be responsible for monitoring and maintaining the station.  

Santa Barbara Seventh-Day Adventist Church member Tesryl Stoute was inspired to install the station after watching a YouTube video:

“I watched a video where a man riding from Santa Barbara to Camarillo got a flat tire. The church sees a lot of cyclists on the Obern Trail, and we thought it would be nice to contribute to the community in a way that could help people like the man in the video.” Stoute rides with a couple of bike groups in Santa Barbara and reached out to them for advice on how the church could build the station. She connected with Public Works staff in March 2021 to begin planning and coordinating with the County. After a year of fundraising, the station was installed in September 2022. “People in Santa Barbara are aware of cyclists’ needs and help them out. I appreciate that generosity from strangers, and the church wanted to do the same thing for the community and be thoughtful of others.”

For Public Works Deputy Director Chris Sneddon, these public partnerships significantly benefit the community. “Providing the infrastructure that promotes safety, accessibility, and connectivity is one of our priorities. Safety is a shared responsibility between local government and anyone who travels on a County road or bike path. So it’s beneficial for everyone when we work with the community on projects like this.”

For more information on the County’s Active Transportation Plan, visit https://sbco.mysocialpinpoint.com/atphome.