It has been roughly a year and a half since the controversial Old Town Goleta restriping project took effect. While city officials say post-project data shows “promising trends,” some business owners told Noozhawk they have yet to see the positive trends outlined by the city.

At a project update given to the Goleta City Council on Tuesday, city staff shared a data report that showed there are lower traffic volumes, more parking, a reduction in vehicle speeds and collisions and increased pedestrian and bike activity in Old Town Goleta.

The project — which was completed in fall 2024 — reduced vehicle lanes from two to one in both directions and created dedicated bike lanes. The city also added back-in angled parking on the north side of Hollister Avenue and timed parking on both sides of the street.

The project aimed to reduce traffic speeds and collisions, maintain traffic flow, and improve conditions for bikes and pedestrians, according to city staff.

“I am happy to report that the data thus far is showing that we are meeting those goals,” said Derek Rapp, the city’s contract traffic engineer.

The report’s data covered late 2024 through early 2026. It also included comparisons to statistics from before the project. 

Rapp said it is too soon to declare the project is “a complete success” and said it needs more evaluation.

He said daily traffic volumes are reduced by fewer than 2,200 daily trips, compared to pre-project levels.

“We did anticipate some reduction in traffic, not only potentially due to the striping changes but also due to the construction occurring adjacent at (State Route) 217,” Rapp said.

While traffic volumes on parallel routes to Hollister Avenue increased after the restriping, the report said the volumes have since decreased and are now leveling off to pre-project levels.

Rapp also hopes the traffic flow will improve once nearby construction at the double roundabouts is completed. 

“In my experience, I can now get through Old Town in a couple of minutes,” Goleta Councilmember James Kyriaco said. “The difference is that you don’t have to go 35 mph to do it, you can do it at 25 (mph), which is what we want.”

But some Old Town businesses said the project has caused issues for their customers. While the project increased on-street parking from 69 spaces to 88 spaces, the back-in angled parking has been difficult to deal with, some owners told Noozhawk.

Guadalupe Vela said the parking change initially caused her to lose 50% of her customers at her restaurant, La Tapatia #3 at 5764 Hollister Ave. 

She said regular customers she used to see twice a week don’t come anymore.

“I have had customers that complain about the (back-in) parking,” she told Noozhawk in Spanish. “They tell me they don’t want to come here anymore because it’s too much of a hassle because sometimes the traffic behind them doesn’t give them a chance to park.” 

Now, she said, there’s been some growth in people coming back, but she is still at a 25% loss of clientele. 

Additionally, some businesses also said they have not seen an increase in pedestrian and bicycle activity, as the report indicated. A count showed an increase at the Hollister Avenue and Pine and Nectarine Avenue intersection during commute hours. 

“I don’t see any foot traffic at all,” Ruta Safranavicius, owner of Paperback Alley Used Books, said.

Similar sentiments were shared by Morgan Kay, owner of Goodland Florist, and Phebe Mansur, owner of CopyRightSB.

Mansur said she plans to do a bike count herself soon from her storefront at 5708 Hollister Ave.

“From my front window, it appears as though there are significantly less people biking through Old Town,” she said. 

However, Councilwoman Luz Reyes-Martín said she has noticed an increase in the number of people walking around. 

“I am glad the data reflects that,” she said.

Councilman Stuart Kasdin encouraged staff to look at ways to bring in more pedestrians and bikes by potentially adding new businesses like brewhouses or wineries. 

“Brewhouses are fun, but I was also thinking about a library or a museum,” Reyes-Martín added.

The report also showed vehicles are traveling down Old Town at less than 30 mph, and the number of vehicles traveling more than 10 mph over the speed limit has been cut in half. 

Kyle Richards, an Old Town resident and former councilmember, applauded the project on Tuesday. He said the numbers in the report match up to his lived experience. 

“As someone who walks my dog along Hollister Avenue in Old Town, I am very grateful for the decreased speeds and safety improvements,” he said. “It feels calmer and safer to get across the street.”

Additionally, the total vehicle collisions have decreased, according to Rapp.

However, he prefaced that he would like to see three to five years of collision analysis before “calling it a win … but we are seeing very positive trends in fatalities, and in total collisions are dramatically down.”

Tuesday’s meeting was quiet, with only a few public speakers for what has been a divisive project.

Mansur said that is because business owners are fatigued, having voiced their opinions multiple times already.

“We have gone to meetings over and over again and said, ‘We don’t like this, we don’t want it, it’s going to hurt our businesses,’ and they just don’t care,” she said.

However, local Richard Foster took the podium on Tuesday night to critique the project. 

“You could have achieved (the speed reduction) by simply putting up lower speed limit signs,” he said. 

Kyriaco thinks otherwise. 

“(This corridor) was not safe,” he said. “It certainly doesn’t make it safer because you put a different number on a sign than the number that was there before without fundamentally changing the way the street is designed and the way the street behaves.”

Kyriaco is content with the report. He also advocated for staff to conduct more public outreach.

“It is hard for me to objectively look at this progress report as anything other than a net positive, and I think the data reflects that,” he said. 

Staff will continue to monitor traffic conditions after nearby construction is complete, meet with concerned citizens and consider any project modifications, according to Rapp.