Attendees

• Gerald Comati, PE, COM3 Consulting, Project Manager for Goleta Old Town Infrastructure Improvement Program (GOTIIP) which includes at-grade intersections on Highway 217.



• Bret Stewart, PE, Transportation Division Manager, Department of Public Works, Santa Barbara County and member of GOTIIP Team.



• Joy Hufschmid, Senior Environmental Planner, Planning and Development Department, Santa Barbara County and member of GOTIIP Team.



• Scott Cooper, Bob Kuntz, Tye Simpson and John Wiemann.

• The County is on an aggressive schedule attempting to align the completion of infrastructure projects with some of the development of the Goleta Old Town key sites.



• Federal Funding was approved in October. Projects are funded by State/Federal funds and Goleta Transportation Improvement Plan (GTIP) funds.



• Project design firm is Robert Bien Frost and Associates (RBF) of Irvine.



• Preliminary design is to be completed by June 2000 along with Federal Environmental Assessment (equivalent to a Negative Declaration under CEQA) and approval of a supplement to the Goleta Old Town EIR.



• Final design to commence in June 2000. It will take 9 months to complete the design and acquire the necessary right-of-ways.



• Construction is scheduled to begin in Spring 2001.



• Technical supporting documentation for the relinquishment for Route 217 is currently under development. The documentation will determine the 10-year cost of maintaining Route 217 in a State of Good Repair. Once agreement between the State and County on this determination is reached, the California Transportation Commission (CTC) will approve the Route 217 relinquishment as well as the funding for the 10-year costs to maintain State of Good Repair. The State will then transfer funds to the County. The CTC action is anticipated for June 2000.



• The scope of the infrastructure improvements project includes two new roadways (Ekwill Street and Fowler Road) linking Route 217 with Fairview Avenue, two at-grade signalized intersections at the Route 217/Ekwill Street and Route 217/Fowler Road intersections, related improvements to San Jose Creek Channel, modifications to Route 217, and accommodations for a Class I Bike Path.



• The County will retain the services of ATE to verify traffic counts. AM and Noon traffic counts are also being verified.



• Associate Transportation Engineers (ATE), will working with RBF to verify required intersection geometrics, signal timing, traffic volumes, length of storage pockets, turning movements, merge lanes, lane configurations, etc.



• The County is happy to include UCSB in the process but there isn't much opportunity to impact major design decisions. The most significant impact that UCSB can have on this project is the appearance of Highway 217 (landscaping and traffic calming mechanisms).



• Comati, Stewart and Hufschmid indicated that alternative options to signalized intersections on Route 217 were evaluated during development of the EIR. Due to construction cost, right of way impacts, traffic operations, environmental considerations and proximity to the Route 217/Hollister Avenue interchange, new interchanges between Route 217 and the new roadways were not considered feasible.



• Roundabouts on Route 217 would not necessarily reduce delay time. In addition, roundabouts would require too much right-of-way and would result in a significant Òtaking" of business properties.



• Slip ramps create environmental impacts (flood channel crossings) and don't remove much traffic from Hollister Avenue, don't improve circulation in Old Town and don't improve access to the airport, based on the Project Study Report (PSR).



• County's concern is how Highway 217 operates for everyone, not just UCSB affiliated populations.



• Landscaping is planned for the full length of Highway 217.



• The existing bridges on Route 217 are safe but the bridge over San Jose Creek may have some reactive aggregate issues. Replacement is something the County will evaluate during determination of the State of Good Repair. However, any replacement would not likely occur before ten years.



• Comati, Stewart and Hufschmid will come to campus in mid January for a workshop on the intersection design. Representatives from ATE and RBF will also participate. They will review options to at-grade intersections that were considered but rejected.



• UCSB will be able to review the computer traffic model with ATE.



• The County indicated that there is an increased potential for rear-end collisions with signals on Route 217. However, various traffic calming techniques will be incorporated into the design modification of Route 217 in order to minimize the opportunity for rear-end collisions.



• The County indicated that the signals on Route 217 will be equipped with the latest video detection monitor equipment to regulate the signal timing. The County will work with the University on regulating signals for special events, e.g., move-in, commencement, etc.



• It was agreed that it would be wise to study the impact of the existing UCSB traffic signal at the East Gate.



• The County indicated that a red light on Route 217 will produce a delay of approximately 73 seconds. The new signals will be synchronized. The County stressed that the dominant green phase of the new Route 217 signals will be for Route 217 traffic. Therefore, for the majority of the time, drivers on Route 217 going to the University, will experience no difference from their current trips with the exception that Route 217 will be posted for a lower speed than it is currently.



• The County indicated that it would not be feasible from either a cost or legal perspective, to construct two temporary signals on Route 217 as an experiment to assess the impact on traffic flows.



• Unknown impact on Highway 217 project if Goleta Cityhood is approved. Assumption is City would contract with County to complete the project.



• Comati, Stewart and Hufschmid felt it would be beneficial for UCSB to form a Highway 217 committee to work with County on the project.



• We did not discuss the traffic impacts during construction of the intersections.