Santa Barbara unveils design updates for 3.1-mile Cliff Drive separated bikeway; parking and tree removals detailed

Santa Barbara City Public Works on Wednesday presented updated designs for a 3.1-mile, all-ages separated bikeway along Cliff Drive and described parking, tree and signal changes as the project moves toward final design and environmental review. Project planner Michelle Bedard said the project will convert the former State Highway 225-style roadway into a “neighborhood‑serving street” with a separated path for bicyclists, enhanced crosswalks and new landscaping.

The plan calls for a separated bikeway largely on the south side of Cliff Drive, 14 new crosswalks and four new traffic signals, including signals at the Santa Barbara City College West and East campus entrances and a new signal near the Mesa shopping center. Bedard said the project will complete a missing gap along the regional coastal route that links Ventura and Carpinteria through Santa Barbara to Goleta and UCSB.

City staff emphasized tradeoffs between parking and safety. The city’s parking inventory along Cliff Drive currently shows 79 on‑street spaces on the north side and 109 on the south side for a total of 188. Under the proposed design the south side would be reduced to 63 spaces and the corridor total would fall to 142, a net loss of 46 spaces. Bedard said staff…