A key strip of Chapala Street will get restriped from two lanes to one, the Santa Barbara City Council decided on Tuesday.
The vote was 5-0 to turn Chapala Street between Arrellaga and Mission streets into one lane to make it safer for pedestrians. The move will result in the loss of one parking space and a slowdown of about 10 seconds from each point. The city also plans to install a traffic signal at the corner of Chapala and Arrellaga streets.
“It seems clear that it is a necessary step to make these corridors safer and to really improve the quality of the roads,” Councilwoman Meagan Harmon said.
The program is part of Santa Barbara’s Vision Zero project, which aims to reduce all traffic fatalities and severe injuries in the city by 2030 while increasing mobility options.
The philosophical concept was introduced in Sweden in the 1990s and suggests that traffic-related deaths and serious injuries are avoidable and unacceptable.
While the project has a catchy name, the goal is to educate and change mindsets toward motor vehicle collisions involving bicyclists and pedestrians. The plan emphasizes that everyone shares a responsibility to make the roads safer, whether someone is driving, walking or riding.
In addition, the Vision Zero strategy states the following: Life is most important; every person matters; people make mistakes; focus on dangerous locations and behaviors; drivers have a critical responsibility; pedestrians and cyclists are the most vulnerable road users; the government shares responsibility for safe streets.
Traffic engineer Derrick Bailey showed statistics that indicated that parts of Chapala Street are unsafe.
Between 2015 and 2019, Bailey said, there were 32 collisions between Micheltorena and Mission streets, resulting in 19 injuries. About seven of those took place at the Arrellaga intersection. The most common type of collision was a broadside, Bailey said.
The cost of the traffic signal will be about $100,000, the new lighting $60,000, striping $5,000 and signs $1,000.
Bailey said the changes will create a better pedestrian environment.
“Many of our residents cross Chapala Street to walk downtown,” Bailey said. “One-lane streets are usually easier to cross than two-lane streets.”
Mayor Cathy Murillo left the meeting early because of a family obligation. Councilwoman Kristen Sneddon was not in attendance.
— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
