Seven Trees to be Removed on Carrillo Street

Source: City of Santa Barbara
As part of the traffic safety project currently under construction on West Carrillo Street, 7 trees will be removed between San Pascual Street and San Andres the week of October 11. The existing trees are failing, and will be removed and replaced with 15 new trees along Carrillo Street.
The tree removals and plantings will be coordinated with sidewalk and curb and gutter repair. As part of these improvements new tree wells will be created and existing parkways will be modified where feasible to increase the size of the planting location for the new street trees. By increasing the size of tree planting locations it creates a better environment to optimize tree performance, all while reducing impermeable surface area at the street level, which allows for more storm water to be captured by the tree and the parkway.
In addition to the tree replacements, the safety project includes new corridor lighting, ADA compliant access ramps, traffic signal left turn arrows at San Andres Street, a new crosswalk at San Pascual Street, and repaving. Work will continue through February 2022.
20 Comments
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Oct 11, 2021 02:24 PMSo many of the street trees are ruinous to sidewalks and gutters and end up costing thousands in sidewalk repairs or much more in the related potential slip-and-fall liability. Jacarandas, Liquidamber, Ficus, and many other approved trees cause huge root problems.
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Oct 11, 2021 02:16 PMHope they don't plant bottle brush eucalyptus like they have on our street, drip sap in the spring, and branches break off and fall at random. About the only benefit I see is the bees and hummingbirds use them when the sap is running.
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Oct 11, 2021 01:54 PMyes i know...kinda off topic, sorry for hijacking your post :)
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Oct 11, 2021 02:00 PM@Zerohawk. Thanks for your perspective... my post was pretty tangential to tree replacement to start out with. :)
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Oct 11, 2021 01:07 PMYes, we need more bike lanes, but not at the expense of sidewalks or tree space. SB has the perfect climate to be a bike paradise... but we need to invest in taking that space back from CARS to give it over to bikes. Not for a moment should we consider taking sidewalk or tree space so our bloated traffic problems will get worse and worst. [Plan with cars in mind, cars are what you'll get.]
I, for one, would be biking all over town with my family if it were even remotely safe to do so. I applaud the bicyclists that are out there, but until my kids are way older it's just not a safe option.
A key city priority should be making major changes to our traffic patterns to incentivize smart, safe, eco-friendly biking. We'd all be happier and healthier (and save time!) biking around if we re-organized the priority. E-bikes help too for older, less healthy folks, or folks who just hate the hills.
As it stands now, Santa Barbara doesn't just have a "car first" planning orientation... it's essentially a "car only" thought process. Folks pretend otherwise, but imagine your bike ride from key places you go every day. You'll realize that you could easily bike it if the infrastructure were there to make it comfortable and safe... but it's not, so you don't. Let's fix it!
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Oct 12, 2021 07:13 AMWhich new bike lanes are you taking about? Ive never witnessed this problem in town.
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Oct 11, 2021 01:54 PMwell it would be much safer for the kids to ride in the bikek lanes throughout town if people would STOP walking on them and insist on calling them "mixed use". They are not mixed use. There is a very clear and obvious bicycle painted on them, not a person walking. Pedestrians have sidewalks that bikes or scooters and skateboards can't be on. They also have 50 feet of street space on either side of the state street painted bike lanes which are in the middle of the street. time and time again, my kids and i have to stop, weave around, or have someone yell at us for riding our bike in a painted and clearly marked bike lane, with direction arrows. I finally witnessed someone get stopped by SBPD and educated on a clear fact. Stay out of the bike lane. My son and I had to stop and listen and then came forward to the very smart and very polite officer and informed him of what we see often. He said that it's become a problem and they are starting to educate people. "There is plenty of room for all of us to enjoy Santa Barbara, but some do need to read signs and follow directions in a better way that helps all of us safely enjoy the beach and state street". I'm not so worried about cars as I am some lady, her stroller and tiny dog stepping out in front of my children. I'm not talking about pro riders here or people peddling as fast as they can, i'm talking about some kids. We live at west beach. we can't even ride on the bike lanes any more because the new norm is 5 older women walking hand in hand taking up the entire bike path. If you ask them to please move aside, they ignore you. I seem them every single morning when we go out to ride on weekends.
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Oct 11, 2021 09:43 AMHow about another miserable excuse for a tree the Bradford pear.
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Oct 11, 2021 09:30 AMre: Lighting -- Pittsburgh just is passing a Dark-Skies ordinance. Maybe we should be thinking about that, keep our star-gazing abilities. Even 15 years ago there were much darker skies to appreciate here. Now the night-lights haze is remarkable.
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Oct 11, 2021 09:20 AMIt is encouraging to see the City reaching out to inform the public. That said, it would be even better if the City consulted with the landowners and tenants who will be impacted by the chosen trees. Many trees on the City streets are poor choices because they require regular maintenance, which the City does not provide. When the entire burden is placed on residents, who may object to the tree due to constant litter, excessive shade, viewshed interference, or other reasons, "mysterious" tree death or disappearance is explained.
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Oct 11, 2021 08:10 AMPepper trees and queen palms were/are on that list and they're a pain. Be sure you read up on specific trees you'e allowed to plant if <you> are planting street trees when the County only recommends not pays. The list contains bad actors. Pepper trees constantly litter, send out invasive runners and draw bees. Many people are allergic to it. The Q. Palm doesn't offer much shade, requires a ladder to trim, and the fronds become fire brands and start fires ahead of a fire. The golden something, & jacancranda are pretty, on the list and extremely messy, too.
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Oct 11, 2021 07:30 AMTrees do have a lifespan, especially when their roots are constricted by adjacent paving. I'm okay with this plan.
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Oct 11, 2021 07:23 AMSidewalks are being uprooted. It's a tripping hazard
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Oct 10, 2021 07:10 PMPlant Eugenia's, it should only cost a few hundred thousand dollars!
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Oct 10, 2021 06:37 PMAlmost a 1/2 billion dollar annual budget and this is what we get we need a politicians reform and we need a city of SB budget reform
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Oct 10, 2021 06:36 PMHow about just watering the trees that are there. Maybe, a little tree trimming too.....
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Oct 10, 2021 06:36 PMThis seems a reasonable choice. Traffic at that intersection has been a problem for a long time. The trees are to be replaced with like trees (Jacaranda I think). But they are planning to remove really old Jacranda on Mission for the purpose of converting the street/sidewalk into a bicycle lane. This will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and will be for the sole purpose, it seems, of allowing bicyclists to remain on their seats when transitioning from Mission to Modoc. This to avoid a 100 yards or so of walking their bikes. This will also eliminate parking on Mission and will comingle pedestrians with cyclists it seems.
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Oct 10, 2021 06:26 PMCity website maintains a list of approved street trees, as well as specimens designated for each block on Good lists to use when planting your own backyard trees - you can find city likes trees with well-behaved root systems so they do not over-grow their locations causing future problems for sidewalk and pavements. Plus drought tolerant, not too messy, not a fire hazard and appropriate for this climate zone. Lots of variables.
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Oct 10, 2021 06:01 PMWhat kind of trees, City of Santa Barbara, will you remove and what kind of trees will you replace them with --- and how large (or small) will the new trees be? Whether this is an "improvement" or not remains to be seen --- the City and its transportation department has a heavy burden to show what they are doing is an "improvement" in the usual meaning of the word and not the bureaucratic meaning. ("We/public works did it so it is an improvement.")
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Oct 10, 2021 04:40 PMYes it's apart of the big job. I really hope people don't go nuts when they see this happening without being informed