County lays out $7 million active-transportation plan for Isla Vista with wider sidewalks, protected bike lanes and traffic-calming

County of Santa Barbara Public Works presented preliminary plans for an Active Transportation Program (ATP) project that would add protected bike lanes, bike boulevards, intersection traffic-calming and new sidewalks across multiple Isla Vista corridors, County mobility manager Mark Friedlander told the Isla Vista Community Services District board on the evening the plan was presented.

The county said the project is intended to “improve bike and pedestrian safety and accessibility throughout Isla Vista,” with a set of treatments that include 10–12-foot sidewalks on parts of Del Playa, protected bike lanes and flex-post separation on some corridors, green bike boxes at signalized intersections, curb extensions (bulb-outs), splitter islands and new ADA-compliant ramps and tactile strips.

Why it matters: the plan would reshape several of Isla Vista’s busiest walking and biking corridors and is funded largely through the California Active Transportation Program, a highly competitive state grant program. Board members and community speakers said the street redesigns will only realize safety and access gains if the county or another agency ensures parking and curb compliance where sidewalks and curb extensions are installed.

Project features and locations - Del Playa (south side): demolition and reconstruction to provide widened sidewalks between about 10 and 12 feet in some segments from campus toward Camino Del Sur. County presenters said the work may remove on‑street parking and will involve extensive utility and right-of-way coordination. - Sidewalk infill: three primary sidewalk infill locations were shown: the 6700 block of Abrego; Camino Corto (east side) from Passato to Del Playa, described as a north–south street with higher speeds and lacking sidewalks; and the 6560–6600 blocks of Del Playa. - Bike boulevards and east–west priority routes: the county highlighted Picasso, Pardall, Sompano and Tarde as primary east–west bike boulevards using signage, reconfigured stop sign directions, ladder (continental) crosswalks and other calming measures to prioritize cyclists. - Protected lanes and paint treatments: proposals include converting some existing class 2 lanes to protected lanes using flex-post delineators, adding green paint at conflict points where bike lanes transition, installing bike boxes at signals and adding center-turn pockets on busier streets such as Camino Pescadero. - Intersection work: the plan shows curb extensions (bulb‑outs), splitter islands and tightened intersection noses to improve sight distance and shorten crossings at locations including Abrego/Camino Corto and the Camino Pescadero/Picasso area.

Trade-offs and constraints cited by county staff County staff emphasized several practical constraints. Mark Friedlander and county colleagues said bulb-outs cannot be placed at every corner because of vehicle turning radii and bus route needs (a 40-foot MTD bus was cited as a design constraint at Abrego). They also said they will try to minimize mature‑tree removal but that some trees within the county right-of-way may need to be removed to create continuous sidewalks.

Funding and scope County staff said the project won ATP funding after multiple applications; the county presented the scope that had been included in its grant application and said changing the scope at this stage would be risky. County staff and the board cited a grant total of roughly $7,000,000 from ATP for the project; staff said the county previously committed local matching money from UCSB/county settlement funds and that not all settlement requests the district made for parking enforcement were funded. At the meeting Jonathan (IVCSD staff) said IVCSD had requested $300,000 to bootstrap a parking‑compliance program; county staff said the county allocated $1,300,000 of settlement funds to this and other projects instead of the parking enforcement request.

Board and public questions Directors and public commenters pressed the county on several topics: - North–South sidewalks vs. east–west focus: multiple board members and residents said island residents perceive north–south streets as the most dangerous places to walk, and asked why the plan focuses heavily on east–west bike boulevards. County staff replied that block‑by‑block right‑of‑way, utility and tree constraints determine where continuous sidewalks are buildable and that some north–south corridors are included where feasible (Camino Corto was repeatedly discussed). - Parking and enforcement: board members said sidewalk and curb redesign on Del Playa will remove parking in the area most heavily used; they urged a parking‑compliance program so curb changes are enforceable and accessible to people who use mobility devices. Several directors asked the board to press the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors to fund parking enforcement or other compliance measures alongside construction. - Design details and safety: county staff described treatments intended to reduce conflicts—green paint at bike/vehicle conflict points, bike boxes, center left‑turn pockets, ladder crosswalks, and potential raised intersections or mini‑roundabouts at select locations pending County review.

Public input and technical suggestions Mark Fucovich, director of state policy for Streets for All, spoke from the public and urged the county to use green‑backed sharrows more frequently on bike boulevards, consider larger sidewalk expansions at Pardall, and use thermoplastic striping where concrete bulb‑outs are too expensive. He also encouraged outreach to state legislators for more ATP funding and referenced AB 413 (state law restricting parking near intersections) as a design and enforcement lever.

County position on changing the grant scope County staff said they had surveyed potential alternative locations and could only identify a limited amount of alternate sidewalk footage (roughly 700 linear feet) that would not jeopardize the grant schedule; staff warned that pivoting from the ATP‑funded scope at this point would pose schedule and funding risk because much of the design, utility coordination and survey work has been completed.

What the board did The board voted unanimously to send a draft letter to the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors reiterating the district’s request that the county fund a parking‑compliance/enforcement program that would make sidewalk and curb improvements usable for people with disabilities and improve safety. The board also recorded its feedback to County Public Works for incorporation in the next design iteration.

Next steps and outstanding issues County staff said the project will move forward with the ATP scope but will attempt to limit tree removals and will incorporate IVCSD and community feedback where possible. Board members and community advocates said they will continue to press for a concurrent parking‑compliance program and for continued attention to north–south pedestrian needs and tree preservation. The timeline for construction, exact bid dates and final parking counts were not specified at the meeting.