Applications open for 12-member ad hoc working group to advise Santa Barbara County Association of Governments, UC Santa Barbara, and Simon Fraser University on developing a new Santa Barbara County bike map.
The Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG) is accepting applications for a 12-member ad hoc working group to influence a new countywide bike map using artificial intelligence (AI).
Funded by a $480,000 grant from the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), the AI Bike Mapping and Wayfinding Project is a partnership between SBCAG, UC Santa Barbara, and Simon Fraser University (SFU). The project will use AI to classify bike routes based on comfort levels, with input from the working group to reflect real-world biking experiences.
“We want this bike map to reflect real experiences from all types of bicyclists representative of our region,” said Transportation Planner Peter Williamson. “You don’t need to be a biking expert— whether you ride every day or just occasionally your perspective is important to this process.”
Ad hoc working group members will work with UCSB researchers as they guide how the AI evaluates comfort factors like lane width, traffic speed, and volume. Participants will also test the classifications to confirm they match cyclists’ experiences on the ground.
“At our first meeting, we’ll define comfort standards based on real street conditions. Later, the group will help evaluate how well the AI is performing and where improvements are needed, said Williamson.”
The resulting AI-powered map can help cyclists find routes that match their riding style and comfort level while also identifying infrastructure needs in the current bike network.
SBCAG encourages applicants from across Santa Barbara County with varied backgrounds, biking habits, and transportation needs. The project will build a bike map that truly represents the community—and can serve as a model across California.
The public can apply online in English or Spanish for one of the 12 available spots on the ad hoc working group. The deadline to apply is 5 p.m. on August 12, 2025. To learn more about the project or to apply to be in the working group visit www.sbcag.org/project/AIbikemap.
Participants will serve in a volunteer capacity and are expected to attend three to four virtual meetings over the next year. Hybrid meeting options will be made available to support those with limited internet access.
For more information or questions about the ad hoc working group, contact SBCAG by phone at (805) 963- 7283 or email at info@sbcag.org.
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Half a million to research making a map?
Caltrans is spending $480,000 for what now?….
Who prioritizes where money is spent at Caltrans? Given the condition of so many of our roads, there must be something more urgent than this.
Half a million for a study to make a bike map. And it’s AI!
Huh?
You’ve never run a business, you have no idea what things cost in the real world. Did you ever figure out why a new boat really does cost a million dollars?
Nah–just cry, cry, cry.
The County government isn’t a business.
I think this looks very wasteful.
Accountability? Not with them.
The County and City have proven their fiscally mismanagement time after time.
It’s important that folks keep watch over how their tax dollars are spent.
If you like this project, that’s your .02. I simply disagree.
Boat rant? Whatever dude…
LOL, you “think” this looks wasteful. That’ because you don’t think things through at all, you don’t “think” about the value proposition you just spazz out with your usual knee jerk over-reaction.
Crying again about improving infrastructure and quality of life?
Looking at all your comments that have flooded this site lately, they’re almost entirely one-off whine-a-thons about things you think our community doesn’t need. Ever think you’re wrong? I mean your opinions, not the lies you spew here daily. We all know you can’t tell the truth to save your life.
480k on a project that could benefit the community for decades and make bike commuting more popular, thereby taking vehicles off the road, reducing traffic, and reducing the wear and tear on the surfaces, not to mention the exhaust, dripping oil, tire debris, etc., maybe that’s a good idea.
Because 480k towards repairing road surface gets you very, very little–something like a half a mile of asphalt paving a two lane residential road.
Take vehicles off the road? Whos going to pay for this? All of the taxes to pay come from taxes based on vehicle use. Tax bicycles there fair share!!
What’s a “there fair share”?? Where?
This will never happen here; bicyclists have been getting a free ride for a very long time and will never give up all that power, nor will they pay their own way. Everyone else will continue to get the bill for the freebies for bicyclists…until and unless the taxpayers say “no”, and put some teeth into it.
Want to ride a bike everywhere? Cool. Go for it. Just don’t make everyone else pay for your goodies while having their roads pinched down to nothing to accommodate bikes. Share the road? Yeah…that means bikers too…not just vehicles and pedestrians.
That rant’s so unhinged that it’s almost comedic.
Possibly the $480K is an appropriate amount for this project and I have to “trust” the money will be well spent. That being said, the public has every right to demand how money is being spent on projects with tax dollars. Look what happens when our pols and government do not care….Prime Example: the CAHSR (California High-Speed Rail) system. Cost approved by voters started out something like a $30 billion. The first phase of the project was scheduled for completion in 2020, but as of today, not a single foot of track is operational. The project is now at $150 billion dollars and completion is off by more than a decade. Now that the Feds have decided to no longer fund this endless project, who knows if any phase of the project will be completed if at all. Maybe by 2040? 2050? And we’re supposed to be the 4th largest economy in the world? What what?
Yep, it’s Gavin’s train to nowhere. Poster child project of government waste of our tax dollars. Some people care, some don’t. Personally, I don’t believe in blank checks. That’s certainly no way to run government OR a business.
Like you would know!
He’s never don either. Just sat somewhere and collected a check.
Some people are going to attack you because they dislike hearing this, but it’s true. The Train to Nowhere….and WE get the bill!
Bend those knees! Another wishy-washy rant.
Hardly a rant. The CAHSR would not be the “elephant in the room” if the approved cost of the project was say 10 or even 20 percent off target. Fair enough. But we are now looking at MORE THAN 500 (five-hundred) percent over the original amount “sold” to the voters of California. Who is okay with a cost increase of FIVE-H-U-N-D-R-E-D percent. It’s not like there is an elephant in the room, it’s like there are five-hundred percent more elephants in the room. Enjoy your fast train rides peeps….reserve your seats soon before they sell out. LOL.
Just like you trust another government entity to spend hundreds of thousands to hire consultants to figure out State Street? How’s that going?