Michael Dukakis — the 1988 Democratic presidential nominee, a former Massachusetts governor and a former director of Amtrak — will be talking transportation next month at a forum in Santa Barbara.
The event, called “The Future of the Central Coast Regional Transportation System” and sponsored by the Coalition for Sustainable Transportation (COAST) and the Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE), will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. March 1 at the Santa Barbara Main Library, 40 E Anapamu St.
The forum comes as Caltrans is gearing up to begin the largest Highway 101 improvement project in Santa Barbara County history.
The $57 million widening project — bankrolled mostly by the state gas tax — is to begin this summer. It will take four years, and involves the two-mile stretch of Highway 101 between Milpas Street and Hot Springs Road. Among the project’s many facets will be the addition of a third lane on the entire southbound stretch.
Meanwhile, in an effort to ease traffic nightmares, a subcommittee of the Santa Barbara City Council is working on a plan to offer a form of commuter rail through Amtrak. Council members Roger Horton, Grant House and Helene Schneider make up the panel.
The committee’s proposal calls for tweaking Amtrak schedules so commuter trains will arrive punctually in the morning and evening. Amtrak’s Surfliner train is currently on time only 85 percent of the time; the plan calls for boosting that proportion to 95 percent.
Also speaking at the forum will be House, Ventura County Supervisor Linda Parks and RailPAC president Paul Dyson.
To RSVP and for more information e-mail Carmen Ramirez or contact her at 805.658.0810 x208.