1 Liana Campos
From: Mike G. <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, March 14, 2025 10:46 AM
To: City Clerk Group
Subject: City Council Meting March 18, 2025 - Agenda Item C.1 CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
City Council Members,
Thank you for the opportunity to provide feedback on the Interim Striping Project. Overall, I support the Project (as well as Project Connect) and note that we cannot fully evaluate the impacts of this Project until Project Connect is completed and the traffic light timing has been adjusted to dial in the most efficient traffic flows. That is still 1-2 years away. So I think everyone needs to be patient until we reach that milestone.
I do, however, have feedback to share regarding the Staff Report and it’s rather “rosy” picture of how the current situation on Hollister Avenue in Old Town is right now. As a frequent daily pedestrian thru Old Town, do I feel safer? The answer is absolutely NOT. I do not attribute this to the Interim Striping Project, rather I blame it on a total lack of Police Department presence in Old Town and the lack of any sustained traffic enforcement. There are two major issues right now that City can and should address immediately:
(1) Cars speeding
(2) Cars driving thru red lights
Both of the above issues occur constantly and have worsened since the Project Connect construction started. This may be due to driver frustrations having to deal with traffic delays or maybe the traffic delays have made the existing situation worse. In any event, every day I notice people driving far above the speed limit and blasting thru red lights. This is usually worse in the areas of Hollister/Rutherford and Hollister/Pine. And it’s not just angry commuters. I’ve observed MTD buses speeding and going red lights as well as many work vehicles.
PLEASE direct the Police Department to develop and implement a sustained traffic enforcement program for Hollister Avenue in Old Town. I have walked thru Old Town well over a thousand days since 2020 and not once have I even seen a patrol car enforce traffic infractions. Not a single time. The police used to do surveillance for illegal right hand turns from Hwy 217 onto Hollister Avenue (west bound), but Project Connection eliminated the need for that. This is an actionable item that your Council can take right now.
Thank you,
Mike Goldman
Resident - Old Town
2 REF: https://goleta.legistar1.com/goleta/meetings/2025/3/3064_A_City_Council_25-03-18_Agenda.pdf
March 14, 2025
Mayor and Councilmembers
City of Goleta
130 Cremona Drive, Suite B
Goleta, CA 93117
RE: Agenda Item C.1Hollister Avenue Old Town Interim Striping Project Update
Dear Mayor and Councilmembers,
I wanted to take a moment to share my enthusiastic support for the Old Town Goleta Road Striping Project. As someone who regularly visits Old Town with my family, I’ve seen firsthand how these improvements have made the area safer, more inviting, and easier to navigate —not just for drivers, but for cyclists and pedestrians as well.
Since the project was completed, I’ve noticed a growing number of families choosing to bike through Old Town, mine included. It’s been incredible to see how the dedicated bike lanes and traffic calming measures have encouraged people to explore the area in a way that just wasn’t as comfortable before.
The data backs this up too—bicycle activity at the Pine/Nectarine intersection has increased by 44% in the morning and pedestrian counts are up by 67% in the afternoons. That’s real progress toward making Old Town a more walkable, bike-friendly destination.
Beyond safety, these changes are benefiting local businesses. The addition of angled parking has made it much easier to stop in and support shops and restaurants without endlessly circling for a spot. The numbers show that peak parking occupancy has actually dropped from 66% to 52%, meaning there’s more availability when people need it most. And despite broader economic challenges, restaurant and hotel sales have gone up by as much as 7%—a sign that these improvements are helping to create a more vibrant, welcoming business district.
Perhaps most importantly, this project has made Old Town feel more like the community hub it’s meant to be. By slowing down traffic (85th percentile speeds have dropped from 31.4 mph to 28 mph) and reducing collisions by 42%, the area now feels safer and more accessible for everyone.
This project is working, and I urge the Council to continue supporting these improvements. Old Town Goleta is becoming an even better place to visit, shop, and spend time, and I’m excited to see that momentum continue.
Thank you for your time and for all the work you do to make Goleta a great place to live.
Warmest Regards,
Michael Iza
Michael Iza, Goleta resident
Additionally signed:
Ryan Cey, Goleta resident;
Heather Shea, Goleta resident.
1 Liana Campos
From: Kyle Richards <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, March 14, 2025 12:15 PM
To: City Clerk Group; Paula Perotte; James Kyriaco; Stuart Kasdin; Luz Reyes-Martin; Jennifer Smith
Subject: C.1 Hollister Ave. Old Town Restriping Project CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
Dear Mayor & City Councilmembers,
As someone who walks, bikes, drives, and uses MTD through Old Town regularly, I am very happy with how the Hollister Avenue restriping project has been performing, especially in light of the ongoing construction of the other parts of Project Connect, namely the roundabouts and San Jose Creek bridge replacement. I understand that 200 days isn't enough time to conduct a full assessment, but I think there is enough information to see that progress is being made on all of the project goals:
Increased parking spaces and availability
Reduced traffic speeds
Reduced collisions
Improved conditions for bikes and pedestrians
Maintained traffic flow
There is indisputably more parking and reduced traffic speeds. And although some people like to gripe about the reduction of automobile traffic from two lanes in each direction down to one, this has not impeded traffic flow in the restriped area. Observations indicate that the traffic congestion is primarily caused by the bridge and roundabout construction. Without fail, the Old Town traffic that backs up is going east, beginning at the bridge/roundabout construction. I never see the west-bound lane backing up.
With regard to traffic collisions, the staff report notes that "Short-term data snapshots may not accurately reflect long-term trends." Nonetheless, it is encouraging to see that collision rates are down for this period of time. The death of a pedestrian is undeniably heartbreaking, although with reports indicating that the victim was not in a designated crosswalk, it is difficult to fault the design of the road for this tragedy. I have previously advocated for adding a crosswalk at Magnolia Street, and I do believe that this would further increase the safety in this area. But the fact remains that the conditions overall have improved and are safer for bicyclists and pedestrians.
I am pleasantly surprised at the significant reduction in noise levels... from 83 decibels down to 58.
What a difference! The quieter atmosphere of Old Town feels noticeably calmer and more welcoming.
2 I hope that if any changes to the design are considered, then maintaining the designated Class 2 bike lanes through this neighborhood must be a priority. Please remember that this is not only a business corridor, but it is also a residential neighborhood. There are nearly 5,000 people that live within 1/2 mile of the restriped section of Hollister Avenue, including families with children, seniors, and those with impaired mobility. These residents should not have to be in a car to feel safe; everyone should be able to get around their neighborhood safely on foot, bike, scooter, stroller, wheelchair, or other alternatives. The removal of the bike lanes would make this area frighteningly less safe.
Thank you for your consideration of my comments.
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
KYLE RICHARDS
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
~Margaret Mead
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From: Sarah Sehr
To: City Clerk Group
Subject: Public Comment: Old town restricting
Date: Friday, March 14, 2025 8:57:46 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
Dear City Council Members,
I hope that you will keep the restriping. I lived in Sumida Gardens Apartments from March- July 2024. I commuted by bike through Old Town every weekday to drop off my son at school and go to work during that time. While I never had an accident before the restriping, I always felt very nervous biking in the sharrow line because of the limited visibility and speed of traffic. The restriping made me feel so much safer because there was a clear place where cars would expect me to be and visibility significantly improved.
I also find the angled parking makes the street look more open and attractive. It is so much easier to park now when we go for sushi.
Thank you,
Sarah Sehr
Goleta resident 2013-2015, 2017-2025
From: sjgriggs <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, March 17, 2025 12:30 PM
To: [email protected]; [email protected]; Stuart Kasdin <[email protected]>; [email protected]; [email protected] Subject: Hollister traffic
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
I know I speak for all my friends in saying the hollister traffic in old town goleta is awful since the reconstructed traffic pattern. I avoid that area as much as possible to the detriment of the business owners there.
Kind regards
Sarah Griggs (a goleta resident for over 40 years)
Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone
From: Robert Bernstein
To: City Clerk Group
Subject: Interim Old Town Goleta Striping Project Update on March 18 Agenda? Date: Monday, March 17, 2025 2:03:18 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
Clerk: Can you please let me know this was received and will be forwarded to the City Council members?
===
To Goleta City Council via City Clerk
Regarding: Old Town Goleta Interim Striping Project on 18 March 2025 Agenda Agenda Item C.1
Thank you to Staff and to Derek Rapp for the detailed information and data on the effects of the Interim Striping project so far. We have less than a full year of data, but it seems that the primary goals have been achieved:
More pedestrians and bicyclists are able to access Old Town and are suffering fewer collisions.
Parking has been increased for those who drive to local businesses.
The back-in angle parking freaked some people out in planning discussions, but it seems to be working well.
Some businesses have lost business during this time, but there is no clear evidence that this is due to the restriping. In addition to the construction disruption, there is a general trend toward on-line sales and a general trend toward people spending less money in times of uncertainty.
On the other hand, it is clear that some businesses have benefited from the more welcoming atmosphere that invites people to get out of their cars and walk around.
When walking or biking, it is not just about whether one manages to survive getting out and about. It is also about feeling relaxed versus fearing for one's life. Over time, people will discover that Old Town Goleta is a place to check out and stroll around, even if they don't live or work there.
I have certainly made a point of biking to Old Town businesses.
Whereas in the past I would avoid Old Town as much as possible. Or just try to get through, focused on basic survival.
There had been so many decades of discussion since I came here in 1982 as a UCSB Physics grad student of how to make Old Town Goleta friendly to humans. I am very grateful to the Goleta City Council for finally making this a reality!
Thank you and let's keep on track for even more Old Town improvements! Robert Bernstein
7100 Georgetown Road
Goleta, CA 93117
(805) 364-2522 (H)
[email protected]
From: Bonnie Moore <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, March 17, 2025 6:04:18 PM
To: Paula Perotte <[email protected]>; [email protected] <[email protected]>; Luz Reyes-Martin <[email protected]>; James Kyriaco <[email protected]>; Jennifer Smith <[email protected]> Subject: Hollister Restriping Project
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
The Hollister Avenue Old Town Interim Striping Project has been solely for the benefit of one entity and that is the bike coalition. They wanted it and they got what they desired at all cost to the living comfort of those who reside and work in the Old Town corridor. I have only seen 2-3 bikers riding in either direction at the times I have been out. Now funding has been spent for bike racks in vivid orange for all of the “ghost” bikes to lock to! Waste of money on a bad design.
Traffic is unheard of comparing 4 lanes of movable traffic, to one lane gridlock each way. It can take 15-30 minutes to get from Fairview to South Kellogg, many times at a complete bumper to bumper standstill.
It takes 3-4 traffic signals to get through an intersection and if you happen to be in a parking lot or have parked on the street and want access to Hollister, good luck, as most drivers are not courteous to let you in.
Gridlock at South Kellogg and Hollister continuously as well as the corridor.
Due to health and physical ability some of our residents, including my husband, who is disabled, cannot walk to do the desire of the City, and using a bike is out of the question.
While we are not ones to use our vehicle for short jaunts to downtown Goleta, we do have medical appointments, banking, church functions, and errands which take us out at various times of the day to other areas of the city.
It is time to consider the residents of Old Town. Give us back our moving traffic and not leave us in the 1950’s.
Please refrain from telling us, it will get better after construction is complete, highly doubtable.
Respectfully submitted:
Bonnie Moore
From: Richard Foster
To: City Clerk Group
Subject: Comment for March 18, 2025 city council
Date: Tuesday, March 18, 2025 9:08:12 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
Council members and members of the public:
In the agenda for the March 18, 2025 city council meeting under Item C-1 Luz (Nina) Buelna states
“…staff negotiated a change order with reduced construction cost of approximately $2 million.” This is false and I resent staff’s willingness to mislead the public.
Not building something does not reduce the cost of construction. That savings claim is not true. I brought this up at the March 5, 2024 council meeting See: The video. (1:08:46)
At that March meeting Ms. Buelna admitted this. She argued that after dropping parts of the project including grinding and decorative painting the Security paving proposal was $460k less than Granite Construction. See: Video (1:02:21) .
The staff’s willingness to lie and deceive the public on an issue of $1.52 million causes me to doubt the veracity of all the data being presented tonight about conditions in Old Town. I suspect they are cherry picked and massaged.
Months ago, simple changes in the center lane striping could have cheaply assisted many businesses with better and legal access. Original proposals showed this to be a continuous left turn lane. You ignored this but did change striping for buses at the Goleta Community Center.
I suggest:
1 Change the center lane to a continuous left turn lane. This provides a safety zone when turning out of a parking lot, much like the center lane in the Calle Real Shopping area. 2 Reverse the back in parking. I have seen no data that it is any safer but it does slow traffic flow and may be as much to blame as the construction zone. 3 Change the on-demand cycle of the pedestrian crossing at the community center. This is a major source of slow down during peak hours.
4 Change the pedestrian crossing near Orange Ave from yellow to red. Late in the day the light is too high and too dim for drivers to see.
Richard Foster
7129 Del Norte Drive
Goleta 93117
805 637-7129
From: Erik S <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2025 7:20 AM
To: Jennifer Smith <[email protected]>
Subject: Concerns over Old Town Striping
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
Dear Jennifer Smith,
I'm writing to you as a District 3 resident, and 30 year Goleta valley resident. It's been well observed that since the single lane change in Old Town Goleta last year, traffic congestion has increased, and driver use of alternative streets in the neighborhood to avoid the congestion has increased. I don't blame drivers trying to find a solution. I have personally witnessed frustration and driver confusion trying to merge into the single lane Hollister traffic during commute hours. It's become extremely difficult to merge from a side street.
This, along with confusion trying to park in angled spots backwards causes a lot of issues.
Another important element is safety. I am a bicycle commuter and car driver. While speeds have decreased, and high visibility paving has improved awareness, the congestion has made some drivers more frantic and urgent to merge into traffic when a small gap is observed in single-file traffic. As a cyclist that frequently travels 15-18 miles per hour, I am more concerned about my safety now, given the confusion with angled parking, frenetic activity to merge into slow traffic, and the now increased number of idle vehicles to negotiate in the roadway. Lastly, the large plastic pieces marking the center lanes are a trip hazard for holiday parades.
I appreciate Goleta's attempt to increase parking spaces, but this solution needs to be revised. A better flowing traffic solution in Old Town is needed, or revert to the old two- lane.
Thank you for your consideration,
Erik Stassinos
From: Andra Dillard
To: City Clerk Group
Subject: Repaving Project in Old Town Goleta
Date: Tuesday, March 18, 2025 9:15:06 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
I will be unable to attend this afternoon's meeting and wanted to provide input for when the Old Town Restriping project is revisited. I no longer visit Old Town Goleta because of the back-in parking spaces. I am not confident in my back up skills. All of the Old Town businesses are no longer receiving my business. I have spoken to many people who say the same thing. Your traffic volume numbers of a 10% reduction in traffic volume on Hollister clearly show that a large portion of potential customers are avoiding Hollister. Imagine if you were a shop owner who's rent and expenses are not decreasing but your business volume/income have been reduced by 10%. Unfortunately the 19 new parking spaces have reduced the number of visits to Old Town, thereby reversing the intended outcome of increased parking spaces allowing for increased commerce. Please return back to parallel parking ASAP.
Andra Dillard
932 N Patterson Ave.
SB, CA 93111
From: Claudia Dato
To: City Clerk Group; Paula Perotte
Cc: BeaAnne
Subject: City Council Agenda Item C.1 Hollister Ave Old Town Interim Striping Project Update Date: Tuesday, March 18, 2025 10:34:07 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
Dear Honorable Mayor Perotte and City Council Members:
As a ten-year resident of Old Town and former City employee who worked for years on various City projects in Old Town, I feel uniquely qualified to provide feedback on the Hollister Avenue Old Town Interim Striping Project. I recognize it will be impossible to make a final judgment on the success (or failure) of this project until the two roundabouts are completed at Highway 217, but wanted to pass on my observations and concerns as someone who travels through the corridor on most days of the week. There are four adults in my household who drive through the corridor several trips daily and at various times. While the corridor sometimes operates at what I would consider to be acceptable levels of service (C or better), there are a few times every day when the corridor is surely functioning well below what most people would consider acceptable, including, at times, what I would anecdotally guess is LOS F. There have been times when things are at a near stand-still and it’s taken 15-20 minutes just to travel from Fairview to Kellogg Avenues. We routinely find the need to leave 10-15 minutes earlier than we previously would have to go anywhere outside of Old Town. For point of reference, we live off Tecolote Avenue and are now forced to use Gato or Armitos to travel eastbound. As someone who walks down to Armitos Park almost daily, I can tell you that, while I have seen greater use of the park, the vast majority of increased travel on Armitos Avenue is not due to the upgraded park facilities or community garden.
There are a couple of things that could be done immediately to improve the travel conditions and LOS. For the westbound traffic, please open up the second lane before Kinman Ave so people can turn into the gas station and make a right turn onto Kinman. There is absolutely no reason the north lane needs to be closed and the fact that it is only results in a greater backup of the westbound travel. Secondly, for the eastbound travel, please open the second, southerly lane so people can make a right turn onto Kellogg Ave next to the Toyota dealership. Again, there is no reason for the second lane to be closed when it could serve as a right-turn only lane and alleviate some of the backup.
Finally, going forward, I think you need to consider a possible hybrid configuration that would provide for two eastbound lanes through Old Town from Fairview to 217, while potentially leaving the single travel lane going westbound. It appears that the number of vehicles traveling eastbound is greater as more people are traveling to Santa Barbara than Western Goleta. We look forward to the two roundabouts being completed as it’s been challenging dealing with all the construction.
Thank you for your consideration.
Best,
Claudia Dato
From: Kyle Campbell
To: City Clerk Group
Subject: Interim Striping Project Feedback
Date: Tuesday, March 18, 2025 10:36:34 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
Hi,
Just wanted to express support for the new configuration of Hollister Ave in Old Town. I live in the Winslowe community. With the added bike lanes, I now commute to work by bike more often than driving, whereas I did not feel safe biking through the area prior to the change. It is also much more pleasant to walk around the area with the lower vehicle speeds.
In the future, I would love to see publicly available bike racks in Old Town. I would love to be able to bike to businesses such as Santa Cruz market or Centennial, but don't feel like I can without somewhere to lock my bike.
Thank You,
Kyle Campbell
Get Outlook for Android
From: [email protected]
To: City Clerk Group
Subject: Restriping of Hollister/Old Town
Date: Tuesday, March 18, 2025 10:42:26 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
Back-in parking is counter-intuitive to most drivers. We've always had slanted parking spaces in large lots but you never see anyone backing into one; they'd rather do a u- turn mid-lane and head in.
And if we're going to re-examine these kinds of project, maybe we can take another look at the Calle Real now-single-lanes vs. bike lanes near Cajun Kitchen. Has anyone studied just how many cyclists use those lanes per day and what the cost, per bike, comes out to for the whole project? It's become a time-wasting bottleneck; no longer efficient. How come the bike coalition wields so much power when hardly any of them use the lanes!?
I grew up in England; rode bikes in the rain and on icy streets for years, so have no beef with bikes. But this is a car culture where most people are not avid or even casual bikers. I try to do errands efficiently in my car in one trip; don't have the time, the balance or the band-width for multiple trips to and from multiple stores on a bike.
Thank you!
Annette Winter
From: Brian Boisky
To: City Clerk Group
Subject: Old town striping
Date: Tuesday, March 18, 2025 12:44:15 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
To city council, my comments are regarding the review of the Old Town Striping Project. I think it works for all the needs on Hollister. Once the roundabouts are completed Old Town should notice a difference in traffic flow.
The one thing that is a nuisance is the yellow mounting plates for the unused pillions on the road. These are unnecessary and are another object to pay attention to. They are annoying to roll over.
The new timed parking in front of the city parking lot on Pine at the Sheriffs station is unnecessary. The parking lot is rarely full.
The timed parking on Carson is a waste of useable parking. The spaces are utilized at about 25% capacity. At the very least the city can make theses spaces for permit parking for employees and businesses owners. Overnight parking should be allowed.
I have noticed that the few new timed parking spaces on Kinman around the dentist office and gas station have been changed a bit. Their are less signs and have had the location changed. This change suits the needs of the neighborhood better.
Overall the changes are helping. Brian Boisky
Sent from my iPad
From: Stuart Kasdin
To: City Clerk Group
Subject: FW: Old Town Restriping
Date: Tuesday, March 18, 2025 12:48:02 PM
From: orders copyrightsb.com <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2025 11:14 AM
To: Stuart Kasdin <[email protected]>
Subject: Old Town Restriping
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
Dear Councilman Kasdin,
If we accept as accurate the 8.7% decrease in sales and the corresponding 10% reduction in traffic, we can deduce that a 30% reduction in traffic will further impact sales revenue. CopyRight’s sales tax numbers align with those of surrounding businesses, which also report significant drops in revenue:
- 35% decrease from Q4 2023 to Q4 2024
- 56.3% decrease from Q1 2024 to Q1 2025 (January 1 to March 17)
Does the sales tax report reflect gross sales? If not, it fails to account for non-taxable sales. For example, many of CopyRight’s services—such as shipping, notary, mailbox rentals, faxing, and live scan fingerprinting—are non-taxable. Similarly, services offered by nail/hair/massage salons and insurance providers are also exempt from sales tax.
Comments from customers, residents, and friends reveal a generally negative attitude toward the city and visiting Old Town, citing traffic congestion at peak times, fear of back-in parking, and protest against the redesign by avoiding shopping in the district.
In my opinion, the best action for the city at this time would be to:
- Restripe roads to allow left-hand turns
- Restripe parking to convert to pull-in diagonal spaces
The cost of restriping would be minimal and would demonstrate that the city is responsive to the financial struggles of its small businesses, offer hope to business owners, and reinforce the city’s commitment to being a green community.
Thank you for considering my insights on this issue.
Phebe
Visit us under the red awning.
5708 Hollister Avenue
Goleta CA 93117
Phebe Mansur, Owner
Notary & Certified Loan Signing Agent
CopyRight Printing
~Serving Customers Since 1996~
T: 805-685-2277 | F: 805-685-7408
M-F 9:00-5:00 ~ SAT 11-2
From: Kathie Rose Mashni <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2025 3:57 PM
To: Stuart Kasdin <[email protected]>
Subject: Old town, Goleta
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
Although the bicycles might like it, driving through old town, Goleta no longer has Small town, charm, pleasure, or relaxation. In my opinion, you have completely ruined the area and now I avoid it finding other places to patronize businesses.
I am completely against backing into parking spots, which seems extremely dangerous, and the single lane is super obnoxious, and it takes three times as long to get through the strip then it used to, and it's not just your construction zone.
I'm surprised businesses have not closed yet, and the back in parking ruins, the visual aesthetic of the charm of it being an old town. You can no longer see the sidewalks and buildings.
I feel like you have completely ruined the character and functionality of the area for anybody who's not on a bicycle And I strongly disapprove of your plan. When you're done with the construction, you should put old town Goleta back the way it used to be, full of charm, and easy to access and patronize the businesses.
From: Susan Shields
To: City Clerk Group
Subject: Striping on Hollister in Old Town
Date: Tuesday, March 18, 2025 3:20:32 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
Attention: Goleta City Council
I did not find out about this meeting until a few moments ago. I wish to add a public comment. I reside in the city of Santa Barbara but I used to visit a number of businesses in downtown Goleta. Now I stay away because of the impossible parking situation. The businesses are losing out as a result. I suggest you go back to the regular on-street parking that existed before.
Susan Shields
3033 Calle Rosales, SB 93105
From: LazyEye Shop <[email protected]>
Date: March 18, 2025 at 4:11:52 PM PDT
To: Paula Perotte <[email protected]>, James Kyriaco <[email protected]>, Stuart Kasdin <[email protected]>, [email protected], Jennifer Smith <[email protected]>
Subject: Old Town Interim Striping Project
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
Dear Mayor & City Council,
I am unable to attend this evening's meeting so I wanted to write in & share what I have observed in regards to this project.
The first thing to mention is that there is a need for employee parking. Many of us are unable to move our cars every 90 minutes & finding parking on the side streets/in the neighborhoods is very challenging. I have spent a lot of time driving around the neighborhoods to find an empty space to park & there are not many spaces available. I think that a parking permit for businesses along Holllister would be extremely helpful with this issue.
While I luckily haven't noticed a decrease in business since the re-striping, I know a lot of other business owners that have reported a loss during this time. I have heard the complaints of many who now are avoiding Old Town Goleta due to the heavy traffic up & down Hollister Avenue. I am at my shop 5-6 days a week from 10-5:30 and have seen a major change in traffic patterns both ways since the re-striping has happened. I also witness many outraged drivers honking & getting upset when people are trying to use the back in spaces, because it does hold up traffic even more.
I know that the back-in spaces have technically added to the parking availability, but many people are uncomfortable using these spaces. Especially with the stress of blocking the single lane on Hollister. I have not noticed an increase in bikers along Hollister since the project was finished, which I do believe was the motivation for this project.
I agree that Old Town could use more parking & I also believe that change is important to keeping things relevant and up to date. However, I feel that the Hollister Striping Project was completed without much communication with the people that spend time in Old Town Goleta. This explains why the results of this project don't seem to be benefitting Old Town Goleta & instead have been detrimental to many businesses. I hope that any future projects that take place in Goleta can include more collaboration and communication with the business owners and residents in this area. Hopefully that way, the next change will feel less out of touch with what this area actually needs.
Thank you for your time,
Andi Modugno
Owner of Lazy Eye Shop
From: Tony Modugno <[email protected]>
Date: March 18, 2025 at 4:38:02 PM PDT
To: Paula Perotte <[email protected]>, James Kyriaco <[email protected]>, Stuart Kasdin <[email protected]>, [email protected], Jennifer Smith <[email protected]>
Subject: Old Town Hollister Update
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
Hey all,
In my opinion I haven't seen any improvements or success due to the restriping of Hollister in Old Town. From what I understand the restriping was supposed to benefit the biking community, but I haven’t noticed any increase in bike traffic. The only thing I have noticed is heavy traffic in the area. From the people I have talked to everyone dislikes the change and I know many people that simply avoid the area of Old Town now. While there is technically more spaces with the back in parking, it doesn't benefit the people that work in Old Town. I have emailed Paula in the past about this topic, but I would really hope you all can find a way to provide long term parking for people that can't move their vehicles every 90 minutes while they are working. Whether this is the use of empty lots or a permit people working in Old Town can put on their dash. Anything would be better than how it is now.
Thanks,
Tony
From: Yvonne Scolari <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2025 5:32 PM
To: City Clerk Group <[email protected]>
Subject: Old Town Parking
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
As a pedestrian in Old Town, my husband and I do not like the back-in parking. Having to breathe the exhaust fumes from the gasoline vehicle engines, coming and going, right next to the walkway is horrible. I wonder how the merchants who have their doors open feel about the exhaust fumes?
Also, we both nearly ran into lumber sticking out the back end of a truck. It was at head leve!. It’s a good thing we were paying attention at the time.
Turn the cars around. Makes it easier on everyone.
Thank you.
Yvonne Scolari and Stan Wolczak
From: Stuart Kasdin
To: City Clerk Group
Subject: Fwd: Oldtown
Date: Tuesday, March 18, 2025 7:20:43 PM
Sent from my iPhone
Begin forwarded message:
From: jscheidemen <[email protected]>
Date: March 18, 2025 at 5:45:07 PM PDT
To: Paula Perotte <[email protected]>, [email protected], Stuart Kasdin <[email protected]>, [email protected], Jennifer Smith <[email protected]>
Subject: Oldtown
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
Hello....
I will be unable to attend the meeting on Thursday with regards to the Oldtown Hollister project.
If I had more time I could write down ten different things that have made this portion of Hollister an absolute NIGHTMARE.
Suffice to say I think it was and is a terrible plan for the business district downtown.
The single lane...the enormous bike lane....the slant parking....all just flat out wrong and dangerous.
I have lived in the Oldtown area twice..the first in the late 70's at the western end and now for the past twenty years at the eastern end by the roundabout project.
So I'm certainly not new to the area or someone who lives elsewhere and just likes to complain.
I'm on this stretch of road a LOT and have seen the traffic jams, near misses between bikes and cars with folks backing into the parking....and while sitting and waiting I can
count on one hand the number of bicyclists going east or west....regardless of the time of day.
Just a REALLY bad plan.....please fix it.
And lastly....hearing former council members saying he hears people "griping" about the plan makes us sound like recalcitrant teenagers and NOT concerned voters and
neighbors.
Thank you.
Jay Scheidemen