Eucalyptus Hill residents petition Santa Barbara council for speed humps, offer to fund radar signs

Sue Burke, president of the Eucalyptus Hill Improvement Association, told the Santa Barbara City Council on Feb. 11 that neighbors have collected more than 130 signatures asking the city to install speed humps on Allston Road to address persistent speeding.

"We have gathered over 130 signatures from our distressed neighbors," Burke said, summarizing a multi‑decade neighborhood effort to slow traffic. She told council the association had offered to purchase and maintain radar speed signs, but said city staff told them that because the signs would be on city property, the city would have to assume maintenance and had no funds.

Other residents described recurring near misses, collisions and general fear on the two‑lane stretch. "I live on Alston Road, and we really kinda call it Alston Speedway," said Tom Schleck, describing drivers accelerating on a straightaway near a blind curve. Lloyd Beardsmore, a current board member of the Eucalyptus Hill Improvement Association, said he had repeatedly pursued help from county and city staffers and was told the city is "severely understaffed." Several speakers recounted crashes: one neighbor’s dog was killed and another’s car was totaled, according to Burke.

Residents said they had spoken with multiple city officials. Burke said the city administrator, Kelly McAdoo, offered to meet with the neighborhood; she said public works staffer Derek Bailey and Police Chief Kelly Gordon had previously directed them to other agencies. Speakers said the police department can only provide limited enforcement because the department has one motorcycle officer for the whole city and said staffing limits constrain patrols.

Residents urged council to seek a practical option such as speed humps, or to allow a partnership or memorandum of understanding with the county so the neighborhood could install and maintain a radar sign. "We offered to pay for all of this," Burke said. "We were still turned down," Lloyd Beardsmore said, describing repeated attempts since 2022 to secure a digital speed sign and a short maintenance agreement.

Mayor and council did not take formal action on the request during the Feb. 11 meeting; the mayor invited the city administrator to meet with neighborhood representatives outside the meeting to continue discussions.

The petitioners asked the council to prioritize near‑term, low‑cost traffic‑calming measures, citing repeated close calls and safety risks for pedestrians and older residents on the road.