Eucalyptus Hill residents petition Santa Barbara for speed humps and radar signs on Alston Road

Shue Burke, president of the Eucalyptus Hill Improvement Association, told the Santa Barbara City Council that neighbors have submitted a petition with more than 130 signatures asking the city to install speed-reducing measures on Alston Road.

"Hemos reunido más de ciento treinta firmas de nuestros vecinos angustiados," Burke said, describing two decades of community requests and saying the neighborhood had offered to pay for and maintain radar speed signs and other devices.

The petition and public comments recounted a sequence of referrals from the City Council to the Fire Department, Public Works and the Police Department, with residents saying none led to a durable solution. Burke said she was directed to speak with Derek Bailey of Public Works and with Chief Kelly Gordon of the Police Department; she said Gordon told residents the department has only one motorcycle officer and lacks funds for a second.

Multiple residents described near-misses and crashes they attributed to chronic speeding. One resident said a neighbor’s dog was struck and killed recently and another recounted property damage from a speeding vehicle backing out of a driveway. Several speakers urged the city to permit a public–private arrangement or a memorandum of understanding with the county so the neighborhood may install and maintain digital radar signs or other calming measures.

City Administrator Kelie Mseado told speakers she would meet with the neighborhood and facilitate follow-up meetings; no formal council action to require installation or funding was recorded at the meeting.

Speakers asked the council to prioritize a local solution rather than leave residents cycling between agencies. Residents said they had documentation of past contacts with the county and with city staff and offered copies for the council’s files.