The Goleta City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to adopt 90-minute timed parking restrictions in Old Town in an attempt to improve parking turnover and availability.
The parking restrictions — which are anticipated to be implemented in April, after the staff orders signs and a contractor installs them — would match those of existing public parking lots in the area with parking allowed for 90 minutes between 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., except on Sundays and holidays.
After the 90 minutes, people would be required to move their vehicle at least one block.
The restrictions would apply to street parking along Hollister Avenue between Orange Avenue and Kinman Avenue and on side streets up to one block north and south of Hollister.
The plan also would add some further parking restrictions with red curbs.
“During the discussion of the interim striping project, it was discovered that the collision rate in Old Town was pretty high and, at many intersections, it had to do with a failure to yield for drivers entering Hollister,” contract traffic engineer Derek Rapp said. “So, along with this, we are proposing some parking restrictions — red curbs — to increase visibility and improve safety in Old Town.”
Rapp said it would eliminate 13 parking spaces, but the Hollister Avenue Old Town Interim Striping Project, scheduled to be completed next summer, will add about 20 spaces, supplementing the 13 lost for the parking restrictions.
“We need to do something about the circulation challenges in Old Town,” Councilman James Kyriaco said. “This is a critical first step towards doing it — the combination of timed parking and doing the safety improvements with red curbing — so I’m really glad that we’re moving forward with this today, but this can’t be the end of the conversation. We need to do a lot of community outreach and engagement that needs to be in English and Spanish.”
According to the plan’s staff report, approximately 50 signs and posts will be installed, and the total cost for design, construction and materials will be about $72,000, which will come from the city’s General Fund.