To: UCSB Community

From: Highway 217 Review Committee

Re: Update on the activities and findings of the Highway 217 (Ward Memorial Highway) Review Committee

Highway 217 (Ward Memorial Highway) was built by the state over 35 years ago to provide safe, adequate access for UCSB students, faculty, staff, and visitors, as well as support services, to and from the City of Santa Barbara and points further east. In addition, this highway provides public access to the Santa Barbara Municipal Airport and Goleta Beach County Park. The County of Santa Barbara is proposing to put two intersections with stop lights on Highway 217 between Hollister Avenue and Sandspit Road, as part of the approved Goleta Old Town Revitalization Plan. These intersections would feed two extension roads, the Ekwill Street and Fowler Road Extensions, connecting Highway 217 to Fairview Avenue. The Goleta Old Town Revitalization Plan, which has been adopted by the County Board of Supervisors, includes improvements to the appearance, and parking and traffic circulation patterns, of Old Town Goleta; expansion of affordable housing stocks and public amenities (parks, bike paths, foot paths) in this area; and large developments, including a large hotel and industrial parks in southern Goleta Old Town, which would provide the economic anchors for redevelopment improvements. The proponents of the Revitalization Plan contend that the proposed intersections on Highway 217 and associated extension roads are essential components of the Plan because these transportation elements would serve anchor developments in southern areas of Goleta Old Town and would decrease congestion on Hollister Avenue. At the County's request, the authority for Highway 217 will soon be transferred from the State to the County and the County has obtained state-federal funding to construct the road extensions and associated intersections.

Although many studies have examined the effects of the Goleta Old Town Revitalization Plan, and associated modifications to Highway 217, on Goleta Old Town, no studies have examined the impacts of this plan on UCSB. UCSB's Highway 217 Review Committee was set up to rectify this situation and will continue to keep the campus community informed of, and ask for campus input on, its analyses of the impacts of the Goleta Old Town Plan on UCSB and possible alternative solutions to perceived problems with the proposed stop lights on Highway 217.

Since it was appointed in December, 1999, the Highway 217 Review Committee has reviewed many public documents dealing with the Goleta Old Town Revitalization Plan and the proposed intersections on Highway 217, has examined the University's historical stance on this project, and has met six times to discuss the effects of the Goleta Old Town Plan on UCSB, including a meeting with County Supervisor Marshall and her staff. County planning staff have rejected alternative solutions to the intersections, including roundabouts and interchanges, because they maintain that these features would be too costly, would require more land, and might have additional environmental impacts. In addition, their traffic analyses indicate that traffic delays and accidents caused by the proposed intersections would be minimal. Members of the Highway 217 Review Committee, however, believe that there are cost-effective engineering solutions that serve southern Old Town Goleta without affecting the traffic flow along 217 to and from UCSB, including the appropriate design and location of slip ramps, interchanges, or roundabouts. In general, many also do not believe the results of the County's traffic and safety analyses, particularly during peak traffic hours, and no analysis has been conducted on the effects of the stop lights on traffic flows and safety during special events. The Committee has hired an independent consultant to examine the costs of the proposed intersections and possible alternatives (e.g., interchange(s), roundabouts), as well as their effects on safety, health, pollution, traffic, and natural habitat issues. The consultant also has been charged with finding cost-effective engineering solutions which serve southern Old Town Goleta while providing unimpeded traffic flow to and from UCSB. A number of Committee members also believe that the County, UCSB, and Goleta promoters should take a long-term, regional view on the area's development and that UCSB should explore possible partnerships with area businesses and developers on joint initiatives. There is considerable concern that UCSB is still viewed and treated as an isolated component of the local community, even though UCSB students, staff, faculty, and administrators are major contributors to the local economy, compose a significant proportion of the local population and work force, and participate in many local activities. The Committee is moving forward with hiring another consultant to discuss regional planning issues, including the overall costs and benefits of the Goleta Old Town Plan for UCSB and connections between UCSB and both Goleta and the City of Santa Barbara.

The County has appeared reluctant to honor its promises regarding substantive UCSB input into the design of any modifications to Highway 217, particularly in allowing proposals for alternatives to the proposed intersections and stop lights, and Supervisor Marshall has declined the Committee's invitation to speak at a campuswide forum on the Goleta Plan and Highway 217 changes. Supervisor Marshall has indicated that she is willing to sit down with the Committee and its consultants to discuss the Committee's findings, once the traffic consultant's report has been completed. It is the Committee's hope that the results of its analyses and the studies of its consultants will be integrated into any plans for the design of Highway 217. In addition, the Committee believes that its activities and analyses will act as a foundation for larger issues regarding UCSB's place in the local community.

During February, 2000, the Committee will complete its review and analyses of documents dealing with the Goleta Old Town Revitalization Plan and the proposed changes to Highway 217, including an assessment of the impacts of these plans on UCSB. The Committee plans to meet with County staff to address questions resulting from the analyses of existing documents, and plans to discuss larger urban and regional planning issues with its urban planning consultant. By the end of February, the Committee anticipates that its traffic consultant will provide an analysis of the general impacts of the proposed Highway 217 changes on safety, health, and traffic flows, as well as potential transportation solutions which meet the needs of both UCSB and Goleta Old Town. The Committee will need time to complete its analyses, but has received no assurances from Supervisor Marshall and her staff that the County will suspend its planning exercises until the University completes its analyses. The Board of the Faculty Association recently passed a resolution calling for a moratorium on County planning for the Highway 217 modifications, allowing for sufficient time for the campus to complete its analyses. Faculty Association members prepared a resolution for a moratorium on planning of the Highway 217 modifications which was presented to the Faculty Legislature at the February 3, 2000, legislative meeting. Once the traffic consultant's report has been submitted, the Committee plans to meet with Supervisor Marshall and her staff to discuss the report and the Committee's analyses and findings. Depending on the outcome of its analyses, the Committee may once again attempt to organize a campuswide forum featuring Supervisor Marshall and County staff.

The Committee will keep the campus community apprised of general developments on this issue via email. A detailed overview of the history and features of the Goleta Old Town Revitalization Plan, the University's stance on this plan, and the Highway 217 Review Committee's activities and findings can be found on the Committee's Web page (http://www.ucsb.edu/campus-topics/217/). In addition, public documents reviewed by the Committee have been deposited in UCSB's Library (Government Information Center, 1st floor near the Map and Imagery Section Collections). The Highway 217 Review Committee welcomes any input on these issues from the campus community. Please contact Committee members if you have concerns, suggestions, or questions.

Highway 217 Review Committee Membership

Scott Cooper, Chair (Professor & Chair, Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology)
Bruce Bimber (Assistant Professor, Political Sciences)
Marguerite Bouraad-Nash (Lecturer, Political Science; Faculty Association)
Richard Church (Professor, Geography)
John Doner (Professor, Mathematics; Chair, Parking and Transportation Committee)
Mario Garcia (Professor, Chicano Studies & History)
Phillip Hammond (Professor, Religious Studies; Chair, Faculty Welfare Committee)
Harry Nelson (Professor, Physics)
Carol Pasternack (Associate Professor, English; Chair, Design Review Board)
William Prothero (Professor, Geological Sciences; Chair, Student Affairs Council)
Robert Warner (Professor, Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology)
John Woolley (Professor, Political Science; Chair, Committee for Capital Projects)
Jason Nazar (President, Associated Students)
Grace Credo (President, Graduate Student Association)
Eric Zimmerman (Chair, Staff Assembly)
Ray Aronson (Chancellors Staff Advisory Council)

Ex officio
Stanley Awramik (Professor, Geological Sciences; Academic Associate Vice Chancellor)
David Coon (Director, Environmental Health and Safety)
Robert Kuntz (Assistant Chancellor, Budget and Planning)
Barbara Prezelin (Professor, Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology; Faculty Assistant to the Chancellor)
Tye Simpson (Director, Physical and Environmental Planning, Budget and Planning)
Richard Watts (Professor, Chemistry; Chair, Academic Senate)
John Wiemann (Vice Chancellor, Institutional Advancement)