The Goleta City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to certify the final environmental impact report for the Goleta Train Depot project and reviewed the project’s designs and plans.
The project will develop a multi-modal train station adjacent to the existing Amtrak platform at 27 S. La Patera Lane, and aims to increase rail ridership and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as well as improve connections to bus transit and accommodate transit services to and from the Santa Barbara Airport and UC Santa Barbara.
A food service component and restrooms also will be added to the site, along with bike and pedestrian facilities.
“These improvements will make the new facility safer, functional and inviting,” the project’s website stated. “The existing Amtrak platform lacks connectivity to station users’ final destination, has inadequate parking and transit accessibility, provides limited and marginal restroom facilities, does not have a covered waiting area or food services, has poor pedestrian access to the site, and has poor bicycle access and storage.”
The structure, which will have a “traditional” theme, as chosen by the Goleta City Council in August 2020, will be about 9,000 square feet and provide an area for passengers to wait in or use after disembarking from the train.
“I am so pleased at how it’s turned out,” Goleta Mayor Paula Perotte said. “I really appreciate all the input from stakeholders that took time out of their busy schedules to be part of it.”
Mayor Pro Tempore Stuart Kasdin — who noted that the design looked like a Home Depot when the traditional theme was selected — said Tuesday that he no longer thinks the design looks like the home improvement store.
“[The design] is a really nice job at preserving our prior elements and keeping it looking fresh,” Kasdin said.
According to the final environmental impact report, the project will not have any significant, unavoidable impacts to the environment. Some significant but mitigable impacts and adverse but less than significant impacts were found, but beneficial impacts also were noted in the report.
The beneficial impacts included the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the reduction of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) through increased train ridership.
Electric vehicle charging stations are also proposed for the site’s parking lot, and about half of the roof would have solar panels, according to the staff report.
An additional turnaround area for buses and shuttles will be at the site’s entry to allow for easy drop-off and pick-up.
Councilman James Kyriaco suggested that the site also include docking and charging stations for Bird and Lime electric scooters and bikes that many UCSB students appear to use.
The train station project is being funded by a $13 million Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program grant, which the city was awarded in 2018 in partnership with the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments.
Project manager and Neighborhood Services Director Jaime Valdez said the project is staying on budget, although there have been significant increases in material costs.
“The issue will be what will come when we actually go to bid, and it’s one of those hard things where you don’t know for sure,” Valdez said.
— Noozhawk staff writer Serena Guentz can be reached at sguentz@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.