With the summer season and Old Spanish Days Fiesta attracting walkers, bikers, and drivers Downtown, the City encourages everyone to “Stay Safe on State” and “Slow Your Roll.” By obeying traffic laws, slowing down, and yielding to pedestrians, everyone can share the Promenade safely.
When biking:
- Watch your speed
- Stop at red lights and stop signs
- Yield to pedestrians
- Do not ride on the sidewalk
When walking:
- Don’t walk in the bike lanes
- Scan and cross the street directly
- At intersections, wait for your green light
Be alert, watch your speed, and help us achieve Vision Zero by eliminating fatalities and severe injuries on City streets. For more information on the City’s Vision Zero Strategy for traffic safety, please visit SantaBarbaraCA.gov/VisionZero.
For more information on traffic safety for our vulnerable road users including pedestrians and cyclists as well as e-bikes, please visit the following:
- California Highway Patrol (CHP): Bike and Pedestrian Safety
- California Highway Patrol (CHP): Electric Bicycle Safety and Training
- PeopleForBikes: E-Bike Smart
Questions? Please email VisionZero@SantaBarbaraCA.gov.
Also Read
- Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office Welcomes New Employees and Recognizes Promotions, Including New Executive Leadership Appointments
- Goleta’s E-Bike Safety Awareness Week is January 19 – 25
- Santa Barbara County Executive Officer Mona Miyasato Announces Retirement Effective July 2026
- Death Investigation at Alameda Park in Santa Barbara
- SLO District Attorney Issues Statement Regarding Protests and Calls for “ICE-Free Zones”
It would be interesting to see how often cyclists and peds are actually cited on State for violating traffic laws. Maybe it’s time to really crackdown on violations and not just once a year, do it every day. Make it known that you can’t just ride with impunity downtown any more.
I can answer this. I started riding an e-bike in January 2020 (just before COVID). Sold my car and only take the e-bike (I take the bus or Uber if it’s raining). It’s about 20 miles per day round trip. I rarely stop at red lights and stop signs. I have never gotten a ticket or warning. Sometimes a jealous psychopath screams at me as I pass them in traffic, but otherwise your assertion is false: you can in fact ride with impunity.
Scofflaws suck.
Well CRS, don’t expect cars to “share the road” if you ride like that. I hope you wear a helmet.
City, you’ve “created it”, time you started regulating it because it’s not working well on autopilot.
This guidance reminds me of something I learned from a UCSB police officer who was the bicycle specialist for the campus. He shared with me that there are a LOT of collisions in the intersections and traffic circles, but few that result in injuries. The series injuries are along the straightaways where cyclists ride fast. Falling or colliding at speed, because of basic physics, is what causes the worst injuries. Taking it slow on State Street and along Hollister Ave 2.0 in Old Town Goleta is the way to do it. Good lesson for most of us save for those in the Olympics right now.
DON – I’m surprised an officer would downplay accidents in intersections. The way cyclists blast through red lights around here, you’d think the collisions would be severe.
The officer was probably referring to accidents on the bike paths at UCSB, not streets so much.
That would make more sense. Seeing bikes blast through red lights on downtown streets, I’d think any accident would be major, especially for the law breaking cyclists.
I didn’t write that clearly enough. I was referring to cycling intersections at UCSB — not car intersections. The main thing is to keep the speed down — especially in crowded spaces, like State Street. I will soon be cycling in Amsterdam — a city once clogged with cars but then, in the 1970s, converted into a bike transportation paradise. I can’t wait.