A new project along Santa Claus Lane will bring beach access, bike lanes, safer streets, and more parking spaces to the area.
The new construction is part of the county’s parallel projects that will occur alongside the widening of Highway 101. The plan will improve the areas along Santa Claus Lane and Wallace Avenue near Carpinteria and Summerland.
The project is a collaboration between Santa Barbara County, Caltrans, the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments, and the cities of Carpinteria and Santa Barbara.
One of the major changes to Santa Claus Lane will be a new accessway for pedestrians to cross over to the beach safely.
“There are several informal paths that people choose (…) in order to get across the railroad tracks,” said Chris Doolittle, an engineer and manager for the project. “So, providing an authorized crossing of the railroad facility has been a key component in order to reduce the hazards that are associated with traveling across the railways.”
County officials celebrated the beginning of the project’s first stage on Friday with a groundbreaking along the coast.
Other improvements include additional parking spots through Santa Claus Lane. Doolittle said the spots will be slanted and will provide more parking along the street for people who want to visit the beach or businesses.
The area will also undergo cosmetic changes with new landscaping and additional streetlamps.
The county will also be installing road features to slow down traffic and make it safer for bicyclists and beachgoers.
“If you’ve been down here during peak rush hour, people like to use this as an extended on-ramp to bypass traffic on the 101,” Doolittle said. “So, with the coordination with the 101 facilities, and the bike path, we’re putting a lot of traffic (infrastructure) to return this area to more of a peaceful existence.”
The construction is scheduled to be completed in three parts.
The first phase will install sidewalks for pedestrians along the side of the street near Highway 101. These pathways will go all the way down to Padaro Lane and connect to the Santa Claus Lane bike path.
“This is going to make it much more accessible,” said Nathan Carr, the resident engineer for the project. “We’re going to be tying in with the Caltrans bike path that was already constructed at the other end of Santa Claus Lane, so it will really improve connectivity through the region.”
Another part of the first phase will be drainage improvements to the area.
Construction crews are currently clearing the area of brush and other vegetation before they can begin working.
The second stage of the project will include work on the roadway, sidewalks on the beach side of the street, and the actual crossing area through the railroad tracks.
Stage three will complete landscaping, roadwork, and traffic installations near the business section of Santa Claus Lane.
The first phase of construction is expected to be finished in Summer 2025. Officials expect to begin work on phase two by early 2027.
Funding for the project is being acquired from a mixture of state funds and through local measures.
The cost of the first phase will be 7.6 million. The second phase is estimated to cost about $11.5 million, and the final phase will likely be around the same amount. The total cost for the project is expected to be between $25-28 million.
Flaggers will be present along Santa Claus Lane during the duration of the project to direct traffic. Doolittle said that the goal was to avoid closing the lane entirely and prevent people from visiting the businesses along the street.
“The roadway will be open, but it’s a construction project and the public should be aware that there may be some impacts, but they should be short lived,” Doolittle said.
