Neighborhood Transportation Planning Efforts

The City of Santa Barbara took control of the Cliff Drive corridor from Caltrans in 2013. This opened the door for projects like the Las Positas Roundabout and the Las Positas & Modoc Road Multiuse Path. In 2018, the City adopted a Vision Zero strategy that aims to prevent severe and fatal injuries on City streets by focusing resources on high-priority streets with documented collision patterns. Cliff Drive is the second-highest priority corridor in the City.

To improve pedestrian and traffic safety in Santa Barbara’s Eastside Neighborhood, Public Works conducted a bilingual outreach effort in 2013 to help the neighborhood identify areas of concern and action steps to address them. The Eastside Neighborhood Transportation Management Plan describes the process in which the neighborhood participated, the input they provided, and the plan of action they determined to address concerns. City Council approved the plan on July 23, 2013.

Eastside Neighborhood Transportation Management Plan

Milpas Street is a busy arterial street in the Eastside neighborhood with five lanes of traffic carrying over 23,000 vehicles per day. Milpas ranks #2 in the City for the highest number of pedestrian-involved collisions. As a result, City Council designated Milpas as a Vision Zero Priority Corridor  (to learn more about Vision Zero, click here).

In 2016, the community advocated for a bicycle boulevard parallel to Milpas along Alisos Street for neighborhood cycling mobility. In 2019, the City returned to the Eastside to receive feedback on the walking experience on Milpas. In 2019 and 2020, the City worked with the community to develop a project scope to addresses concerns.  

The City applied for an ATP Cycle 6 grant for the Milpas Street Crosswalk Safety and Sidewalk Widening Project (Project) in 2022 and was successful, with nearly $8 million awarded to the City for final design and construction. 

Design and environmental review commences in 2023 with construction anticipated to begin in 2027. 

The City conducted a robust community engagement effort to listen to neighborhood concerns about pedestrian, bicycle, and traffic safety in the Westside and Lower West Neighborhoods. The City also conducted a Vision Zero Traffic Safety Analysis to identify locations where future collisions can be prevented. 

Neighborhood feedback and the traffic safety analysis were summarized in the Westside and Lower West Neighborhoods Transportation Management Plan (Plan), identifying infrastructure projects to address neighborhood safety and mobility concerns. City Council unanimously approved the Plan in March 2020 and adopted a Resolution of Support to seek grant funds.

The City applied for an ATP Cycle 6 grant in 2022 to implement the Plan and was successful, with $19 million awarded to the City for final design and construction. 

Design and environmental review will commence in 2023 with construction anticipated to begin in 2027.