David Pulver, the owner of Upholstery Décor Inc. in Old Town Goleta, has opposed the restriping plan for Hollister Avenue from the beginning.

He said he believes business owners were not taken into consideration. In addition, he said, he has seen close calls where someone almost got hurt.

The first involved an older man in front of Pulver’s shop trying to exit his parking spot but had his view blocked by a large truck to his left. Pulver said the man was forced to pull forward to see whether vehicles were coming.

“As soon as he pulls forward to look to the left, here’s the guy on a … bicycle in the bicycle lane, and he came whizzing down here at about 20 miles an hour, right past the front of that big truck. And the old man in that car almost hit him on the bike,” Pulver said.

The City of Goleta restriped Hollister Avenue in Old Town, reducing the two lanes on each side to one, not allowing left turns from Tecolote Avenue to Orange Avenue, and adding bike lanes.

The parking along Hollister Avenue also changed from parallel to diagonal spots. The new parking spots require that drivers back into them.

Goleta officials say the changes will increase parking as well as reduce speeding and traffic congestion.

The changes were rolled into Goleta’s Project Connect, which will add roundabouts to Hollister Avenue near Highway 217. The total cost of the construction was $2 million for pavement removal and repair, and paint.

Early responses to the city’s plan have been mixed.

Some residents liked the idea that the changes to Hollister Avenue would slow traffic and maybe add parking for people in the neighborhood — a longtime complaint.

Others opposed the construction, saying it would make traffic worse. Another complaint was that the city should wait until construction on the planned roundabouts was finished.

Some stated that the new plan would not add enough parking to make the changes worth it.

Pulver, who said he had heard from his neighbors about the changes since day one, said the bicyclist was able to avoid the older driver but had to swerve into the main lane of traffic to avoid the vehicle. He also claimed the bicyclist did not look before he swerved.

“He didn’t think about that part of it. It was either hit the old man or get run over, but he didn’t think about the run over,” Pulver said.

Lynda Cullen said she moved to Old Town Goleta in 1997 and has lived near Hollister Avenue for almost 15 years.

She said she is trying not to be negative about the new lanes. She agreed that congestion was an issue on Hollister Avenue but is already seeing issues with the changes to the street.

Problems include speeding up to get through yellow lights, parking the wrong way in the new parking spots, and more. She also expressed concerns about potential fender-benders as drivers try to pull out of the spots.

She said longtime residents she knows are struggling with the changes and that she isn’t sure that Hollister Avenue needed such a drastic overhaul.

“I think what the city was hoping for is that it would slow the traffic down, which is great. You know, I hope it does, but I noticed that it still hasn’t that much,” Cullen said.

James Adelman, a bicyclist from Santa Barbara, said he liked the new bike lanes and that they were more clearly marked.

Before the change, Adelman said, he had to be careful of drivers “not knowing where the bike path was.” Now, he said he believes the bike lanes are safer for bicyclists and easier to see.

“It’s better than it was because the bike lanes are clearly marked, but there are a few spots that are a little confusing,” Adelman told Noozhawk.

The City of Goleta has said the project is a pilot program, and officials are willing to step it back if the community opposes it.