November 8, 2000

Intense activity concerning Highway 217 occurred all summer and into the fall. The Highway 217 Review Committee met weekly, had several day-long workshops with the County, and testified before numerous agencies, including the County Board of Supervisors, Planning Commission, Association of Governments, and the Old Town Project Area Committee.

The Committee feels that important issues are unresolved. For example, our studies have found that traffic congestion relief can be achieved without the interruption of traffic on 217. The County disagrees, and has decided to go ahead with plans for stoplights on 217, while we want to devise a solution that works for everyone. However, the County does not yet have the authority to change 217.

Santa Barbara County has plans to convert 217 to a road like Storke Road or Los Carneros Road, and the first step is to put in two new intersections with stoplights. One stoplight would go on 217 at Ekwill Street, near the News-Press printing plant, and a second would go on 217 at Fowler Street, near the Drive-In. Very recently, the County has suggested placing roundabouts on the 217, instead of stoplights, at these intersections.

The short-term goals are to reduce traffic congestion on Hollister in Goleta Old Town and on Highway 101, and also to stimulate business and industry in a County development zone, which is near the coast and between 217 and Fairview Avenue, south of Hollister Avenue. Revenue of about $1 million annually from the coastal development zone, including a hotel/conference center, an office complex, and industrial facilities, could pay to make the Goleta Old Town area more inviting and livable.

Our community of students, staff, and faculty, through elected and representative bodies has expressed strong opposition to stoplights on 217. The Highway 217 Review Committee was formed in Dec. 1999 to analyze the issues in depth, and to seek a `win-win' solution acceptable to all parties.

We have learned that an agency similar to the California Coastal Commission, known as the California Transportation Commission (CTC), controls the transfer of authority over 217 from the State to the County. The CTC must weigh whether transfer of the road is in the interest of the State of California. Until they vote in favor, no interruptions can go on to 217.

The Committee studied road connections to all of the ten U.C. Campuses, and consulted with a prominent regional planner to assess the importance of the 217 to the University and the State. Most campuses have excellent access to the local freeway system, and of the remaining campuses, most have sought better access. Access to the road system is essential for success and functioning of the University. Recently, the State allocated $37 million to build a new road to the University's Merced campus.

The University will be here 50, 100, and hundreds of years into the future. During that time, there will be more growth in Goleta, like that recently on Storke Road. Growth near a modified 217 could bring even more stoplights, driveways, and perhaps on-street parking. The University's integration with the South Coast community and the State will suffer.

During our intense work with the County, we devised and evaluated numerous alternatives to stoplights, and joint technical studies have shown that some improve traffic in Old Town more effectively than the stoplights would. Systems of ramps and overpasses perform quite well, but they might be expensive.

An unexpected conclusion came from the traffic studies. If the existing Old Town road system were left `as is,' and if future commercial and industrial growth filled in the County's development zone by the coast, the traffic congestion will be about the same as it would be if intersections with stoplights were on 217. Minor, targeted modifications to the existing roads could actually relieve congestion better than the stoplights.

The County responded to this conclusion by discrediting the traffic studies of the existing road system, although County staff approved the studies in advance, and provided the software and files used for the studies. The Committee believes the studies were accurate, and has used them to develop a true `win-win' solution of modest, targeted changes to the Old Town Road system.

On September 22, the County started an EIR process for 217 changes. Although the County had entered into joint design studies with our Committee, they decided to go forward without the results of those studies. Apparently they are under intense time pressure from a hotel developer. The County then unilaterally set a deadline of October 20 for the Committee's designs. Crucial technical information needed to make this deadline was not provided in a timely manner by the County.

The Highway 217 Review Committee prefers to collaborate and devise a solution that works for everyone.

The County has proposed the placement of roundabouts on 217. The Committee feels that roundabouts are inferior to targeted modifications to the existing road system.

In the end, it is the CTC that will decide by vote whether or not to turn 217 over to the County. We will keep you informed of the process that will lead to that decision, so that you can make your views known.

The Highway 217 Review Committee