Public Comment Received — Goleta City Council, June 7, 2022

1 From: Pamela Dawson <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, May 27, 2022 6:21 PM
To: City Clerk Group
Subject: Hollister Avenue Old Town Interim Striping Project Hello!
Is there a way to see a model of the different configurations under consideration? This little corridor is of great importance!
Thank you,
Pamela Dawson
1 From: Jason Chapman <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, June 02, 2022 11:07 AM
To: City Clerk Group
Subject: Comment Regarding June 7 Agenda C1 (Interim Striping) Hello Mayor and City Council,
I am very glad to see the Old Town Interim Striping project go forward! I would like to voice my full support of this project, and I agree with staff that among the options, option 3 is best. I think this will be a great demonstration that Old Town will function as well with two car lanes, and I'm very hopeful that narrowing of the driving area will bring vehicle speeds down. Additionally, the buffered bike lanes with no risk of getting hit by car doors will make biking through Old Town so much more comfortable; I know I will be biking there much more often once this project is done.

This will be a great step towards making Old Town a more safe and pleasant place to be outside of a car. I urge the council to approve option 3 and move with all haste to make this happen! Thank you,
Jason Chapman
1 From: bill kelley <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, June 03, 2022 11:11 AM
To: City Clerk Group
Subject: Project 9114
I'm not sure who's has the idea that old town should have diagonal parking and one lane each direction could not have been born and raised here in the 50's and 60' s. That's when we were a small farm town that a 2 lane road was all we needed. We are not that little town anymore and need Hollister Ave. in old town needs to remain as is. If you think one lane each direction will help traffic congestion you are wrong. You will only make it worse, not only on Hollister but in all the neighborhood streets as people try to find alternate routes to bypass congestion. Think twice before you approve this project and talk with the residents and businesses in old town.

William Kelley
Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android
1 From: Bonnie Moore <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, June 02, 2022 5:59 PM
To: City Clerk Group
Subject: Hollister Avenue Old Town Interim Striping (Project No. 9114) Project Open letter to all City of Goleta Council and staff;
Walk with me back to the year 1958;
Hollister had been Highway 101 and had 2 lanes of traffic, one for each direction and yes, there was this design of diagonal parking which now is a new idea of managing parking on Hollister.

My parents knew the Grey Family who owned the old Goleta Department store which stands at the corner of Hollister and Nectarine. We lived next door to Mrs. Grey's parents in Santa Barbara. We ventured way‐out to Goleta to do some of the family shopping, along with the Department store we did our grocery shopping at the Goleta Market way before Santa Cruz Market.

As one who has lived in Old Town for the past 42+ years, trying to turn left into many of the side streets is a nightmare now with traffic. If you have made your shopping trip to Costco, Home Depot or any of the other shops in the Camino Real Marketplace and want to turn left off Hollister onto the side streets taking you home there is already a wait for your left turn to be completed. We have a lot of traffic and making the main corridor through old town down from 4 lanes to 2 lanes; is only asks for more congestion along Hollister Avenue. We must drive to get things we need as we no longer have a Hardware store, craft store, department store, etc. and now need to rely on places no longer within walking distance.

Diagonal parking does create a visual block from seeing pedestrians, bikes, and vehicles; being a person of short stature, 5'2", most cars are not going to see me or I them until it is too late. An accident in the making.

As an established owner of properties, I am opposed to this project.

This was done 60+ years ago and changed due to the influx of more traffic and people in the area along with the current traffic lights, which seem to have solved the issue for many years.

Why change what isn't broken because someone thinks we need to look like another town? Better to clean and maintain what we have then go to the expense of a temporary try, fail and redo.

We are unique, well blended, and accustomed to the current situation. We are Old Town Goleta proud.

Think of the residents of Old Town; we live and work here, we understand the traffic, many changes made in "our best interest" are seen from the eyes of someone not living in the immediate area. Please really take the time to speak with those living in Old Town and get their input even if you need to walk the neighborhoods. I walk daily and we need to clean up our streets, not do a major re‐design.

Respectfully submitted,
Bonnie Moore
June 4, 2022
City of Goleta
City Council and City Clerk
130 Cremona Drive
Goleta, California 93117
RE: Hollister Avenue Old Town Interim Striping (Project No. 9114) I ~m writing to voice my concern regarding the potential for significant traffic impacts from the proposed re-striping project. The Staff Report only identifies the potential for increased traffic delays within the 2-lane re-striped zone of the project but fails to address potentially significant impacts outside this zone.

Specifically, I am concerned about traffic backing up from the Hollister/Kellogg intersection eastbound thru to the Hollister/Ward Drive intersection . I base my concerns on real life observations over the years when construction has taken place at/near the Hollister/Kellogg intersection where the two westbound lanes on Hollister were reduced to a single lane. These instances resulted in massive backups all the way to the Hollister/Ward Drive intersection from 7 am to 6 pm (not just peak hours). And there's an obvious reason for this. There are multiple traffic flows coming from the east into the Hollister/Kellogg intersection.

There are 6 lanes in total that feed this Hollister/Kellogg intersection :

Hollister Ave Eastbound (2 lanes)
Dearborn Ave (1 lane)
Hwy 217 offramp (2 lanes)
Ward Dr (1 lane)
Prior construction that pinched traffic near the Hollister/Kellogg intersection from 2 lanes to 1 lane resulted in gridlock all the way back to the Hollister/Ward Dr intersection. Having 3 traffic lights that service this small zone between these two intersections further compounds the gridlock situation as people simply ignore red lights and completely block the intersections.

This made life for the hundreds of residents of Dearborn Place untenable as getting in and out of Dearborn Place was a nightmare.

The Staff Report states that the east side of the project will begin at Kellogg Avenue. This is a big mistake. I strongly recommend that the eastern edge of the project start further west at Kinman Ave to allow the eastbound traffic flow from the 6 lanes noted above to settle down and to avoid the gridlock that has been previously observed.

Thank you for opportunity to comment on this proposed project.

Sincerely,
t'\~JLL_ Michael Goldman

1 From: Nancy Mulholland <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, June 04, 2022 6:51 PM
To: City Clerk Group
Subject: Hollister Avenue Old Town Interim Striping Project Mayor and City Council members,
Thank you for your consideration of the Interim Striping Project for Old Town.

I support Alternative #3 with a suggestion and a question.

Suggestion: make the parking back‐in angled parking. This makes leaving the parking space much safer and efficient for the car driver; they will have a clear view of any oncoming vehicles before pulling into the traffic lane. This parking alignment has been in use on Cabrillo Blvd at East Beach in Santa Barbara for some time now and has improved safety for all roadway users.

Question: how will left turns be handled at intersections with side streets? Will there be an offset left turn lane in lieu of parking spots as you approach the intersection? There is no mention in the presentation of how left turns will be handled.

As a resident of the area, I have been riding bicycles for transportation on Hollister Ave for over 27 years.

It is way past time to make the Old Town stretch safe for all users of the roadway. Please approve a striping plan and move forward expeditiously. I look forward to spending more time in Old Town once safety improvements are complete.

Thank you
Nancy Mulholland
1 From: Tanja Reutimann <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, June 06, 2022 7:48 AM
To: City Clerk Group
Subject: Hollister Ave. Old Town Interim Striping Project Dear City Council,
Dear Mayor and Council Members. My name is Tanja Reutimann and I'm a 18 year resident of the City of Goleta.

As a local resident who lives 1/10 mile away from the Old Town project, I am extremely excited to see the City move forward with this plan to improve the walkability, safety, and vibrance of our downtown district.

Cities across the state have implemented similar projects over the past several years to great effect.

We've all seen the success of our neighbors in Santa Barbara. As the staff report notes even inland Cities like Lancaster have found great success with the proposed design alternative.

Residents of Goleta also deserve a downtown that is an attractive, pedestrian-friendly destination and not a pass through for vehicle traffic.

I'm particularly supportive of the potential of Alternative 3 to improve safety for people on foot, bike, and behind the wheel, while also providing more street parking for residents who can't or don't live close enough to walk or ride a bike to Old Town.

In closing I'd like to thank staff and all those involved with making this project a reality.

I urge the Council to support Alternative 3 and allow local residents like me to experience it firsthand as soon as possible.

Thank you
Tanja Reutimann
‐‐
1 From: David Cutaia
Sent: Monday, June 06, 2022 9:41 AM
To: David Cutaia
Subject: FW: Old Town Goleta bike lane
From: Teresa Jamison <[email protected]>
Date: June 6, 2022 at 9:12:42 AM PDT
To: Deborah Lopez <[email protected]>
Subject: Old Town Goleta bike lane
I am responding to Tom Modungo's excellent letter of recommendations and concerns Re:bike lane access through Old Town Goleta. Have alternative routes for bicyclists been explored through the neighborhood? As he mentions in his letter, congestion on Hollister will send traffic through the neighborhood. Wouldn't it be better to send the bicyclists through the neighborhood? Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,
Teresa Jamison
Teresa Jamison
7th Grade English, Garden team
Availability:
 E‐mail is the best way to reach me: I will respond within 24 hours.

1 From: tom modugno <[email protected]>
Date: June 5, 2022 at 11:20:07 AM PDT
To: Paula Perotte <[email protected]>, James Kyriaco <[email protected]>, Stuart Kasdin <[email protected]>, Kyle Richards <[email protected]>, Roger Aceves <[email protected]> Subject: Fwd: Old Town Changes
Dear City Council Members,
My name is Tom Modugno. I’m the owner of Santa Cruz Market and I have worked in Old Town Goleta for 45 years. A lack of parking, pedestrian safety and bike safety are all very real problems in Old Town and I applaud the city for making an effort to address these problems. However, the drastic measures proposed by city staff to fix these problems seem to be overkill and may have some unintended consequences. I think there may be some more moderate steps that can be taken before we essentially re‐ invent the Old Town wheel.

We have been in dire need of more parking for decades, just like lots of cities. Our situation here is we have a thriving commercial district within an overcrowded residential district. So, businesses are competing with each other and residents for parking. City staff’s plan of putting a parking lot in the middle of our main artery of traffic seems counterintuitive, to say the least. And while they try to support their logic by providing examples of other cities that have successfully implemented such a plan, the examples are very different situations than Old Town, apples to our oranges.

We are unique in that our streets are not laid out in perpendicular grids, with route options one block away. The Pismo example of Price Street is paralleled by Highway 101 and Highway 1 on either side, providing a simple option to bypass the on‐street parking slow down. Old Town residents trying to get to their homes will have to slowly crawl through the maze of parked cars and traffic on Hollister, or more likely, choose to work their way through the narrow neighborhood backstreets. And not just residents will likely choose this backstreet option. If Hollister is congested, lots of non‐residents will soon learn the routes through the winding backstreets, some of them in a hurry, resulting in a very dangerous situation for Old Town residents of all ages. A worst‐case scenario would be non‐residents that don’t know their way through the backstreets, rushing and frustrated, trying to get out of the Old Town maze. We could be trading safety for parking.

The obvious disaster of Alternative 3’s middle of the street parking plan is you are asking people to sneak across Hollister with no crosswalk. Government subsidized jaywalking! But all three alternatives require tricky parking maneuvers, made even trickier when you add passing cars, bikes and pedestrians, all negotiating narrow passageways. This is not 2 Price Street, this is Hollister Avenue, a popular and busy place. Again, trading safety for parking.

Whichever alternative you choose, the new parking spaces will all be occupied 24/7 without a serious increase in parking enforcement. Meanwhile, just 2 blocks to the south, sits a huge empty parking lot and big deserted Yardi buildings, with serious parking enforcement! Can the city not work out a deal with the owners of all these empty parking spaces? Have we tried?
Another very important safety question that is not answered by the info provided is how do emergency vehicles negotiate the new layout? With all 72’ of Hollister spoken for, how does a big fire truck rushing to save a life get through? How do any first responders get through this maze of parked cars, traffic, bikes and pedestrians? Today, even during rush hour, there is ample room for cars to pull out of the way and let them get to their important work. Hopefully this has been carefully considered.

Having done my own small survey, some merchants are outraged by this plan, and some are so desperate for parking, they’ll try most anything. Personally, I believe Hollister is the main artery of Old Town and it provides our lifeblood, customers. If you cut down that flow, merchants will pay the price. Old Town Goleta is one of the last semi affordable places to try your hand at the American Dream, owning your own business.

Take a walk down Hollister and speak to the merchants and you’ll see they come from all walks of life, and all over the world. We are almost all mom‐and‐Pop businesses, and we have very few empty storefronts! We lost some businesses to COVID, but eager new entrepreneurs have stepped in to fill the void. Today, you might see huge semis using the center lane as a place to unload their necessary deliveries to these small businesses.

The new plan will eliminate that option without providing an alternative. Today there are turn lanes for customers to easily access these small businesses. The new plan will eliminate that option also. We survived COVID, but our challenges are not behind us.

Merchants are now having to deal with crazy inflation and hoping we can avoid a recession. In our near future we will have to also deal with some major construction projects coming to Hollister Avenue. Two roundabouts will be built on either side of Highway 217 and a whole new bridge will be built over San Jose creek, naturally cutting Hollister down to one lane and no doubt causing congestion for who knows how long.

Adding this experimental reconfiguration of our main artery on top of these construction projects could be the end of a thriving Old Town. I hope you all consider this carefully.

In closing, this experiment may work beautifully, or it could be an absolute disaster, no one knows for sure. All I ask is can we please wait until the Hollister construction projects are completed before we try? To be proactive in the meantime, we can try more subtle remedies, like adding more stoplights and adding more push button crosswalks to slow folks down and maybe eliminate some hurried passing through. Can we reach out to local property owners to make more public parking lots? Finally, can we enact a serious speed and parking enforcement program on the Hollister corridor? I understand you are under some serious pressure from a very vocal bicycle group, but you should not be rushed into a decision of this magnitude. And if after all the construction dust has settled, and we still have the same problems, then let’s try this major experiment.

3 Thanks for your time,
Tom Modugno

1 From: More Doggie News <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, June 06, 2022 11:59 AM
To: City Clerk Group
Subject: City Council Meeting, June 7, 2022: Item C1: Hollister Avenue Old Town Interim Striping (Project No. 9114) Project Update, Preferred Alternative Selection and CEQA Exemption Mayor Perotte, Mayor Pro Tempore Kasdin, and Councilmembers Aceves, Kyriaco, and Richards:

I have the following questions and comments regarding the Old Town Interim Striping Project, Item B1 on your June 7, 2022, agenda.

Emergency Egress and Ingress
Will the carrying capacity of a two-lane Hollister Avenue be sufficient to safely evacuate several thousand residents or allow access by emergency vehicles in the event of a major disaster or disruption (e.g., a major fire, a plane crash, or any event that closes 101 and diverts freeway traffic to Hollister Avenue)? Hollister Avenue is more than a commercial and travel corridor: except for one narrow street that opens onto Fairview Avenue, Hollister Avenue is the only access to and egress from the densely populated residential area that lies to its north. Thus, it is vital to any evacuation effort in Old Town. What steps are proposed to ensure public safety under emergency conditions during the life-time of this interim project? Any existing emergency plans would be premised on a four-lane Hollister Avenue. New plans should be devised before adoption of a two-lane option.

According to the Los Angeles Times on November 20, 2018, the town of “Paradise narrowed its main road through town as well as two other streets in recent years, hoping to slow traffic and improve pedestrian safety. The changes came despite warnings that a major fire would cause crippling gridlock during evacuations, a scenario that became grim reality when California’s worst wildfire swept into Paradise this month.” The question of safety was raised during your January 19, 2021, council meeting, but the answer given did not address my concern. It did not include any reference to emergency evacuations but focused on the engineering standards that would apply to the new construction. I am specifically concerned about the carrying capacity of the proposed new configuration during an emergency. The city should address this issue now, not after an interim project is completed—and certainly not in the hindsight that follows a disaster.

Staging of Construction
Plans to narrow Hollister Avenue to two lanes have previously relied on the road extensions proposed for Ekwill Street and Fowler Road to ease traffic on Hollister Avenue (even though most of any traffic on those streets will arrive and depart Old Town from Hollister Avenue intersections at Highway 217 near Kellogg Avenue or Fairview Avenue). Indeed, the staff report for the proposed restriping project indicates that possible traffic slowing due to a narrowed roadway on Hollister may divert traffic to the new extensions
If we are relying on the Ekwill Street and Fowler Road extensions to carry diverted traffic, they should be completed before the restriping project. Traffic cannot be diverted onto roadways that do not exist.

Pedestrian Safety in Alternative 3
For Alternative 3 the staff report suggests that drivers and passengers exiting from cars parked in the center of Hollister Avenue may walk across one lane of traffic to reach their final destination. This is listed as a Con for that alternative, but that Con is ignored in the staff recommendation. Instead, staff recommends Alternative 3 because it best achieves the original stated goals of the project: It provides buffered bike lanes, separated from parked vehicles—ending conflicts with vehicle doors swinging into the bike path, and maximizing visibility between bikes and drivers on driveways and side streets. Additionally, it generates more on-street parking than the other alternatives considered.

That recommendation totally ignores the new danger created for pedestrians by Alternative 3. Once drivers and passengers exit a vehicle, they become pedestrians. It is unclear how these pedestrians will reach their final destinations. 2 Pedestrians should not be forced to walk in the street between a row of parked cars and moving traffic to access a marked or unmarked crosswalk. That would create a possible hazard from vehicles entering and exiting parking spaces and from moving traffic.

Crossing traffic lanes outside the protection of a marked or unmarked crosswalk is likewise dangerous. Drivers and riders may not see pedestrians in time to stop.

Circulation and Configuration
How will the two lanes of traffic coming into Old Town from east of Highway 217, from west of Fairview Avenue, and from the two left turn lanes from Fairview Avenue onto Hollister Avenue be safely and efficiently funneled into their respective one-lane configurations? None of the sketches presented for this meeting or previous council meetings (December 15, 2020, and January 19, 2021) illustrate a transition zone where the two-lane Hollister Avenue would end and the one-lane Hollister Avenue would begin. Will the existing center medians be removed, or will parking be installed only in those sections of Hollister Avenue with no existing median?

Deliveries
What steps are planned to assure deliveries to our businesses along Hollister Avenue? Not all businesses have parking lots large enough to accommodate the semis and other large trucks and vans that regularly make deliveries in Old Town.

Such deliveries are vital to the survival of our businesses. How will those diverse businesses be protected?

Public Outreach
The January 19, 2021, council meeting seemed to promise additional public outreach before the interim striping project returned to council. I am not aware of any workshops or public meetings that took place since January 2021, and the only outreach cited in the staff report consists of re-contacting those who had previously commented on the Complete Streets Project. Although preparing for and conducting public outreach may add time to a project schedule, the failure to conduct any significant new outreach on the interim striping project seems contrary to the city’s stated goal and strong efforts to increase public engagement with the city—even to point of establishing the Public Engagement Commission.

Some Words About the Word Experiment
It is unfortunate that during the January 19, 2021, council meeting, members of the public, staff, and councilmembers repeatedly labeled the interim striping project as either a demonstration project or an experiment. Such language choice is unfortunate. I beg to inform the public, staff, and councilmembers alike that Old Town residents and business owners are not exotic molds growing in petri dishes.

If this project is an experiment, it is an experiment with lives and livelihoods in the Old Town community. No one has asked our consent to this experiment. The language used is that of “explaining” to us, so that we can “see” the many benefits. Please excuse us if we are not thrilled to be informed that we will be living subjects in an experiment that may or may not work, that may last or be terminated at time uncertain, that may help or may kill our existing business community.

Old Town and its community members deserve better.

A person’s choice of words reflects that person’s attitudes. With all due respect, I suggest that the city temper its enthusiasm for experimentation in Old Town and change both words and attitude.

Thank you for taking the time to read these comments.

Sincerely,

Catherine E. Bednar
5701 Gato Avenue
1 From: ANGE HERNANDEZ <[email protected]>
Date: June 6, 2022 at 12:11:30 PM PDT
To: Deborah Lopez <[email protected]>
Subject: Parking
As a resident in Old Town Goleta, the Charm and beauty connection with neighbors the merchants has been #1 reason for living in Goleta. Parking has been a problem. One example that may help Michelle Apartments, one side is shared by businesses. DO THESE business own the property? My understanding is no it's City owned. Along side Michelle Apartments from the power poles its city owned but the owner of Michelle Apartments has everyone Towed away(for she drives around checking for her tenant's parking pass limited one pass per unit. Having more than enought parking for two or more vehicle. Then you have Griffin rental taking parking space for their employees along the same space understandable. Then you have the other small business same space.

Having a parking stature off of Hollister Ave is the best decision. One that can be Utilize by merchant's employees, residents, (monthly reasonable monthly, yearly fee) By creating unnecessary middle divider parking will be a nightmare. Has anyone in the city council ever Experience what it's like Monday through Friday, At different times of the day how congested and busy it gets A normal day heaven forbid there's something going on on the highway 101. Hire a team that within 2 to 3 months time line walk through all of the city streets in Old Town Goleta (Fairview to hwy 217) What belongs to the city that has been unlawfully taken by other properties owners for their own use. Come to an agreement or try with property owners that have sufficient parking for for employees, tenants.

Small initiatives sometimes are better easier than making it so complicated, in a small amount of time. GOLETA city council is acting like the Montecito City Council pleasing people, groups not facing the impact example Hwy101 expansion over 20yrs ago and now everyone except those, paying the price. Don't make the same mistakes listen to the people that LIVE, WORK in Old Town Goleta.

Ps: focus on Hwy 101/Glen Annie exit its a dead zone suggestion make a lane for exiting and entering hwy for the being. Before school year.

Again has anyone been on highway 101 or experienced going North early morning (work, school), after work Monday thru Friday.

Sent via the Samsung Galaxy S10e, an AT&T 5G Evolution capable smartphone 1 From: Deborah Lopez
Sent: Monday, June 06, 2022 12:58 PM
To: Liana Campos; David Cutaia
Subject: Fwd: I second Tom Modugno's opinion here....

Sent from my
iPhone
Begin forwarded message:

From: Maureen McFadden <[email protected]>
Date: June 6, 2022 at 12:52:43 PM PDT
To: Deborah Lopez <[email protected]>
Subject: I second Tom Modugno's opinion here....

I can’t improve on Tom’s knowledge and history of Old Town ‐ I just SUPPORT his ideas here.

PLEASE wait till the construction projects are done.

I live in Rancho Goleta Mobile Home PArk and am dreading the two round‐about installation at 217 & Hollister.

I hope there’s an alternative way to get out of WARD when those are in process. Anyone think about that?
https://www.edhat.com/news/improvement‐consequences‐in‐old‐town‐goleta Thanks
Maureen "Mo" McFadden
President
McFadden & McFadden P.R.
945 Ward Drive. #128
Santa Barbara, CA 93111
(805)689.5053
[email protected]
www.mcfaddenpr.com
www.facebook.com/MnMPR
Parvus Sed Potentus = Small Yet Powerful
PR Tip: Remember journalists don't work for you. The media work for their audience. What they're looking for is value for their readers, viewers or their listeners. So always look for what value you can provide them… not what they can do for you.
1 From: Kristin Brandt <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, June 06, 2022 2:33 PM
To: City Clerk Group
Subject: Comment on Hollister Avenue
Hello,
I am writing in support of lessening Hollister Avenue to two lanes to make old town safer and more walkable and bikeable! I live on one end of Old Town and have friends who live on the other side. I would love to bike instead of drive but feel it's currently really dangerous and am forced to drive.

I like option 3 because it feels like a nice compromise between those who want or need to drive to old town and struggle to find parking and those who live in or near old town and would prefer to walk or bike. It both makes parking easier as well as biking. Hopefully in the more permanent change, sidewalks could be widened making walking easier, too.

I understand people are concerned that lessening the lanes will make traffic worse, but my understanding is this change should will encourage people who use Hollister to just drive through to take the 101 instead, thus allowing Hollister to be just local traffic only and feel more like a proper downtown area. I think slowing down the flow of traffic will go a long way in making it fun and easy to frequent the local businesses, similar to how State Street and many other places that became pedestrian only or less lanes during covid have done really well! It is at least worth doing the temporary restriping to see how it goes. I think it's really important to do as much public education on it as possible, though, otherwise many will automatically dislike the change out of misunderstanding its intent, and I worry the project could fail prematurely because it wasn't given the proper resources.

Thank you very much for taking the time to read my comment.

Kristin Brandt
Agenda Item C.1, June 7, 2022 Mayor Perotte and Councilmembers, Proceeding with this “experiment” in Old Town at this time looks like a good way to kill the local businesses, endanger pedestrians, cause dangerous increased traffic on the narrow backstreets, impede access for emergency vehicles, and make evacuation of the area in the event of a disaster almost impossible. But the bicyclists will happily zip through Old Town without impediment. I do not support any re-striping and two-laning of Hollister in Old Town until the Ekwill/Fowler bypass route and the round-a-bouts on Hollister are completed so that their impacts can be evaluated. A new emergency access plan and evacuation plan, as well as a plan to accommodate delivery vehicles should be in place before any more changes are proposed. Then the community will have the information needed before proceeding. Thank you for your consideration of my comments. Cynthia Brock 1 From: Robert Gonzalez <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, June 06, 2022 5:00 PM
To: City Clerk Group; Paula Perotte; James Kyriaco; Roger Aceves; Stuart Kasdin; Kyle Richards; Michelle Greene
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: Public Comment - June 7th - Item C.1 Old Town Striping Hello,
I am writing in support of alternatives 2 or 3 for striping on Hollister. Goleta is an incredibly bikeable city with its flat topography, trail network through and around UCSB, and perfect weather. With electric bicycles, biking is a very viable option to get around town, but the infrastructure still needs improvement. This includes safe and protected bike lanes and secure bike lockers (which Public Works should explore).

Bikes have been shown to increase business activity. Many students at UCSB use bicycles as a primary source of transportation, so it makes sense to extend the range in which students can safely shop and patronize businesses. It would be incredibly shortsighted, amidst rising gas prices and a climate crisis, to implement anything less than safe bicycling infrastructure in this important corridor.

Nationally, bicycle and pedestrian deaths have been rising. Nationally, the sales of electric bicycles have outpaced EVs 2 to 1 (Source ‐ New York Times). As Goleta continues to grow, it's important to prioritize safety and sustainability.

I would
appreciate if you watched this amazing interview with Mayor John Bauters of Emeryville, CA ‐ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlVWv9O0qQ4
Thank
you
1 City Council Members,
As 42‐year residents of Goleta (and Santa Barbara before that), we TOTALLY support every word of Tom Modugno's well‐informed, well‐reasoned, common sense plea to the Goleta City Council not to go ahead with the parking plans it proposes. Tom Modugno is in a position to know what it is really like in Old Town, so please heed his advice and that of the many other business people and residents in Old Town! If you want to do something to improve the aesthetics and appeal of Old Town Goleta, give some of the money saved from the disastrous parking monstrosity to the individual shop owners to renovate the facades of the businesses along Hollister‐‐whether in the charming 19th‐century style of small towns across California or in the Colonial Spanish style traditional in this area.

I hope that the Goleta City Council is open to reason and will not railroad this project through just because it has the ability to do so, or that more powerful interests than Goleta residents stand to benefit.

Thank you!
Carina Cooter and family
1 From: Brian <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, June 06, 2022 6:53 PM
To: City Clerk Group
Subject: Hollister Avenue Old Town Interim Striping Project Idea #1 makes the most sense , except no back in parking. Front end parking only. No matter how it’s decided upon Hollister will be a mess. Thousands of cars daily travel this street going well beyond 35 miles an hour. The bottlenecks throughout the day will be numerous and stall traffic flow. I walk this street daily and am amazed how fast people travel with not speed enforcement. Accommodating a few bikes is a joke. I will never ride my bike down Hollister no matter what the city will decide. I have driven down the center parking in Pismo beach, it was ok because there was not as many cars traveling down the street.

Sent from my iPad
Cecilia Brown
398 N. Kellogg Ave
Santa Barbara, CA 93111

June 6, 2022

Dear Mayor Perotte and council Members,

I have recently spent several days shopping in Old Town during late morning and early afternoon, never had a problem finding a parking spot, usually there is space on the City’s parking lot. Or if it is full, someplace on a side street. I can walk on sidewalks to get to my destination. This is safe and predictable, especially at signalized intersections where traffic has to stop for me so I can cross safely..

I think Alt#3 is a horrible idea: putting parking in the middle of the street requiring those parking their cars and their passengers to have to walk through traffic to get to the sidewalk.

Walk through traffic? What does the pedestrian have to do, flag cars/trucks to stop for them so they can cross the traffic lane? How is it safe is it to do this? Maybe this alternative has some good attributes, but Alt #3 is a non-starter for it puts pedestrians in harm”s way in the middle of the busy traffic lane and forces them to get cars and trucks on the roadway to stop for them. How likely is that? And for pedestrians to wait in the traffic lane for any bicyclists who might be passing by? Where is the concern for pedestrians in Alt#3? Where is the discussion in the staff report for you, the decision-maker, and the public to understand that the preferred alternative is not a pedestrian-friendly alternative.

Alt #3 increases parking spaces and conditions for bicyclists, but at what costs to pedestrians? Conflicts reduced for bicyclists but conflicts increased for pedestrians? Whatever solution there is, it has to be for one both bicyclists and pedestrians and Old Town. And Alt#3 isn’t it.

Thank you,
Cecilia Brown
Goleta resident

1 From: Kyle Campbell <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, June 07, 2022 12:55 AM
To: City Clerk Group
Subject: Public Comment - Item C1 Interim Striping
Hello,
I am writing in support of moving forward with the Old Town Interim Striping project. While I think all three options would be an improvement, I believe option 3 would provide the most benefit. I live on the east side of Old Town and work near Camino Real Marketplace. I would love to commute to work on bike everyday, but biking through Old Town currently carries too much risk. A buffered bike lane would create safe and easy access through Old Town, ultimately reducing the number of cars on the road. Additionally, I think the added parking and reduced driving speeds would go a long way in improving the walkability of the area and create a more lively, downtown feel.

Thank You,
Kyle Campbell
1 From: linda melsher <[email protected]>
Date: June 7, 2022 at 7:02:32 AM PDT
To: Deborah Lopez <[email protected]>
Subject: parking middle of Hollister
Hollister, 192‐Foothill‐Cathedral Oaks, and 101 are SB's main arteries. The parking suggested is the equivalent of adding arterial plaque and will have the same effect: disruption and danger. 1 From: David Cutaia
Sent: Tuesday, June 07, 2022 11:45 AM
To: David Cutaia
Subject: RE: Hollister Ave.

From: l8dau
to <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, June 7, 2022 7:06 AM
To: Roger Aceves <[email protected]>; James Kyriaco <[email protected]>; Kyle Richards <[email protected]>; Paula Perotte <[email protected]>; Stuart Kasdin <[email protected]>
Cc: l8dauto <[email protected]>
Subject: re: Hollister Ave.

Good morning City Council members.

My name is Phil Unander and I own Larry 's Auto Parts in Old Town Goleta. I have owned this business for 41 years and have appeared before your council on numerous occasions for a variety of reasons and issues. I am intending on attending tonight's meeting but seem to be battling a cold and cough, so it is possible I might not make an appearence. Following is what I would offer as a speaker:

My name is Phil Unander and I own Larry's Auto Parts on Hollister Ave. in Old Town Goleta. I have been here for 41 years. I was a part of the Project Area Committee for the County of SB Goleta redevelopment in the late 1990's. I supported the formation of the City of Goleta and have been in front of this Council many times thru the years for a whole bunch of reasons. I work at my business daily and look out my front window at Hollister Ave. I see traffic, congestion and parking problems every day, all day. The City of Goleta can conduct professional surveys and make observations but I, along with many other businessesam in Old Town live the survey each day. We rerely get asked our opinions.

I am a reluctant SUPPORTER of OPTION 1, which as I understand it is a single traffic lane each way, a bike lane on both sides and continued parking on both sides. This plan also incorporates a new reverse entry diagonal parking system on one side only and adds several spaces. I say reluctant only because I really do not like any of the options offered, but believe this one is the best for all concerned.

I am a strong advocate of the need for parking, which I believe any plan must include. I am NOT in favor or turning Old Town Goleta into a replica of downtown State St. I VERY STRONGLY OPPOSE option 3, which plans diagonal parking in the middle of the street. This plan might work in some cities, but is a very a BAD idea and not a good fit for our Old Town.

I understand that some people have very specific visions for Old Town, but would like to remind all of you that your vision is not necessarily shared by the rest of the public and businesses.

Phil Unander
Larry's Auto Parts-Goleta
1 From: Dustin Hoiseth <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, June 07, 2022 11:36 AM
To: City Clerk Group
Cc: Kyle Richards; Paula Perotte; Stuart Kasdin; Roger Aceves; James Kyriaco; Kristen Miller Subject: Public Comment - City Council Meeting June 7th - Old Town Interim Striping Project Attachments: PublicComment_C1_SBSCChamber_OldTownInterimStripingProject.pdf Attached and below is public comment on behalf of the Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce for today's City Council Meeting re: the Old Town Interim Striping Project. Thank you. ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Dear Mayor Perotte and Councilmembers:

The Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce, from Goleta to Carpinteria, would like to express our support for the Hollister Avenue Old Town Interim Striping Project. The Chamber has been following the concept of Old Town restriping for many years and have supported it from the beginning. This project is a key first step in the long‐term process of creating a walkable and inviting downtown with a true sense of place.

We understand that the Council has three different options to choose from regarding the implementation of the interim striping project. We encourage the Council to choose an option which they feel best achieves the following goals: bike safety should be of the highest priority, encouraging cyclists to travel through Old Town and Hollister is a key piece of creating an inviting downtown; traffic calming, the current state of traffic in old town is not accommodating to pedestrians or cyclists, and discourages both; and current and future beautification efforts, especially as they relate to the long‐term plan for Old Town and Hollister Avenue.

Please support moving forward with the Hollister Avenue Old Town Interim Striping Project, ensuring that bike safety, traffic calming, and the beautification of Old Town are key criteria for determining the best option to do so.

Thank you,
Kristen Miller
President & CEO
Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ DUSTIN HOISETH | Public Policy Manager

SANTA BARBARA SOUTH COAST CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
(805) 967-2500 | [email protected]

805.967.2500 | www.SBSCChamber.com
Mailing Address: 5662 Calle Real #204, Goleta, CA
Visitor Center: 120 State Street, Santa Barbara, CA

June 7, 2022

Mayor Perotte and City Council
City of Goleta
130 Cremona Drive, Suite B
Goleta, CA 93117
RE: SUPPORT Hollister Avenue Old Town Interim Striping Project Dear Mayor Perotte and Councilmembers:

The Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce, from Goleta to Carpinteria, would like to express our support for the Hollister Avenue Old Town Interim Striping Project. The Chamber has been following the concept of Old Town restriping for many years and have supported it from the beginning. This project is a key first step in the long-term process of creating a walkable and inviting downtown with a true sense of place.

Thank you,

Kristen Miller
President & CEO
Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce

1 From: David Cutaia
Sent: Tuesday, June 07, 2022 1:04 PM
To: David Cutaia
Subject: FW: June 7 City Council Meeting AGENDA ITEM C.2 Hollister Ave/Old Town Interim Striping (Project No. 9114)
From: Chris Lange <[email protected]>
Date: June 7, 2022 at 12:24:54 PM PDT
To: Deborah Lopez <[email protected]>
Subject: June 7 City Council Meeting AGENDA ITEM C.2 Hollister Ave/Old Town Interim Striping (Project No. 9114)
Mayor Perotte and members of the city council,
I am a former long-time resident of Goleta and permanent Ellwood activist. I happen to be a bicyclist too.

But I have serious doubts that the Old Town striping project I am looking at actually improves anyone's access or safety--and on balance may be introducing conflict with existing plans in Old Town.

I support letters of concern written by Tom Modugno, Cecilia Brown, Cynthia Brock, and several from residents in the area like Kitty Bednar's.

We bicyclists are nimble but vulnerable. I think the only really safe onstreet bike lane for us is a Class IV--physically divided by concrete curbs, posts, planters or some combination. Parking will be lost, though. So why aren't we looking at rerouting some or all of crosstown bike access to side streets? At my current address on Micheltorena at Chapala, a proposed section of a bike route that connected riders using the Highway 101 overpass would have bumped residential and business onstreet parking, which we fought--until the route was jogged a block over, to Sola Street. Voilá--easy for cyclists, great for local business and dwellers alike.

Regarding emergencies: isn't there an evacuation plan already in existence for Old Town? I will bet money the proposed median parking, restriping, lane reduction and loss of left-turn lanes do not support that plan.

Christina Lange
805-284-3492
36 W. Micheltorena St. Santa Barbara
(Previously 450 Ellwood Beach Drive)
1 From: Deborah Lopez
Sent: Tuesday, June 07, 2022 12:51 PM
To: Liana Campos; David Cutaia
Subject: Fwd: June 7 City Council Meeting AGENDA ITEM C.2 Hollister Ave/Old Town Interim Striping (Project No. 9114)
Sent from my
iPhone
Begin forwarded message:

From: Chris Lange <[email protected]>
Date: June 7, 2022 at 12:24:54 PM PDT
To: Deborah Lopez <[email protected]>
Subject: June 7 City Council Meeting AGENDA ITEM C.2 Hollister Ave/Old Town Interim Striping (Project No. 9114)
Mayor Perotte and members of the city council,
I am a former long-time resident of Goleta and permanent Ellwood activist. I happen to be a bicyclist too.

But I have serious doubts that the Old Town striping project I am looking at actually improves anyone's access or safety--and on balance may be introducing conflict with existing plans in Old Town.

I support letters of concern written by Tom Modugno, Cecilia Brown, Cynthia Brock, and several from residents in the area like Kitty Bednar's.

Christina Lange
805-284-3492
2 36 W. Micheltorena St. Santa Barbara
(Previously 450 Ellwood Beach Drive)

1 From: Mark Morey <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, June 07, 2022 2:27 PM
To: City Clerk Group
Subject: Hollister Avenue Old Town Interim Striping Project I hope it isn't too late to say that I am in favor of option 3 for restriping Old Town Hollister. That stretch is the scariest on the south coast, right up there with Milpas, for riding bikes and possibly getting killed. I have two labs on either side of Old Town where I work. I would LOVE to bike between them, but I can't physically or emotionally handle another injury. Build a SAFE way to ride a bike and people will.

Mark Morey, PhD
805‐698‐8244
1 From: David Cutaia
Sent: Tuesday, June 07, 2022 3:29 PM
To: David Cutaia
Subject: RE: For the love of God, if you want to be a local hero and improve the lives of many, please start a coalition to sync the traffic lights between Patterson and Fairview through old town of Goleta. — Nextdoor
‐‐‐‐‐Origi
nal Message‐‐‐‐‐
From: RICHARD FULLER <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, June 7, 2022 2:26 PM
To: Roger Aceves <[email protected]>; James Kyriaco <[email protected]>; Stuart Kasdin <[email protected]>; Paula Perotte <[email protected]>; Kyle Richards <[email protected]>
Subject: For the love of God, if you want to be a local hero and improve the lives of many, please start a coalition to sync the traffic lights between Patterson and Fairview through old town of Goleta. — Nextdoor
You should read what your constituents are saying about traffic on Hollister through Old Town. Plans to put parking in the middle of Hollister are insane. How are people who park there supposed to get to a sidewalk safely?
From my neighborhood:
https://nextdoor.com/p/9D8Y5cJh8nGp?utm_source=share&extras=ODU5OTc%3D Sent from my
iPad

Goleta City CouncilJune 7, 2022

Goleta City Council
June 7, 2022