We hope that other local groups will submit proposals and be as successful as Santa Barbara City was. They must be submitted by September 13. The County is considering asking for lights on the entire length of the Atascadero Creek bikepath. The Bicycle Coalition VP Ralph Fertig wants funds to publish a Bike the Coast booklet. Westside women with babies in their strollers wait to cross Carrillo rather than take chances with the two-foot sidewalk.
Bicyclists have no safer choice than the busy narrow lanes.
Photo by Ralph Fertig. In response to appeals from Westside bicyclists and pedestrians who lost reasonable access to Downtown when the Ortega Street overcrossing of Highway 101 was damaged and razed May 22, the Santa Barbara City Council voted for high priority to improvements to Carrillo Street. The Carrillo underpass of Highway 101 is the nearest alternative to Ortega. It currently has a two-foot sidewalk, narrow traffic lanes, and signs that direct pedestrians to cross the five lanes of Carrillo twice to reach Downtown. The City's proposal calls for removal of one traffic lane in order to widen the sidewalk and stripe in bikelanes on both sides.