Santa Barbara is pursuing a grant for State Street construction and a Highway 101 pedestrian bridge in the Eastside neighborhood.

Pursuing the grants means that the City Council allocated $1 million in matching funds for the State Street grant and $400,000 for the Eastside bridge.

The council voted 6-1 to apply for the grants and allocated $600,000 from Measure C funds in future budget cycles for Eastside neighborhood improvements. 

Mayor Randy Rowse voted against the move, citing financial concerns with finding the funds for the grant matches and Eastside allocation.

The matching funds will also come from Measure C revenues in future budget cycles, spread out across a few years. 

The Eastside Overcrossing Project includes the construction of a pedestrian and cyclist bridge to connect the Lower Eastside and waterfront neighborhoods.

Councilwoman Wendy Santamaria said the project would help create equitable beach access for Eastside residents. 

“We have a beach called East Beach. That’s our beach. For us to not be able to access it easily baffles me,” Santamaria said.

Under the Eastside project, crews would construct a pedestrian and cyclist bridge over Highway 101 and the railroad tracks to connect the Eastside neighborhood to the waterfront.

The overcrossing would start at the intersection of South Canada and Pitos streets and connect to Dwight Murphy Park, with a ramp alongside the Santa Barbara Zoo parking lot, according to the staff report.

City staff said the bridge would shorten the walk to the waterfront by up to 1.5 miles and save 30 minutes in walking time from Eastside neighborhoods.

At a May 12 meeting about the grant application, there were concerns about how the bridge project would coexist with a planned Santa Barbara Zoo housing project.

Brian D’Amour, the city’s public works director, said both projects are in early stages, so it’s too soon to know how or if they would conflict with each other.

“The project remains too early that it’s just too soon to tell what accommodation this project might have to make in order that they can both coexist,” D’Amour said. “I believe that it will be possible.”

The council was originally hesitant to move forward with the pedestrian bridge project because of a lack of public comment on May 12. However, on Tuesday, numerous current and former Eastside residents spoke about the positive impact it would bring. 

Carrie Wexler, who has lived on the Eastside for 50 years, said the community has felt “completely isolated.”

“There’s no downside to having a bridge at this point in time from the Eastside to the beach,” Wexler said. “We deserve it. Otherwise, we’re just a cut off little ghetto.”

Grant for State Street Redesign

Last month when the council discussed applying for a California Active Transportation Grants to fund the Eastside bridge and the Castillo Undercrossing Project, they asked city staff to make a third application to get funds for the State Street Master Plan. 

The grant would help fund construction envisioned in the $48 million to $64 million plan to widen sidewalks and add retractable bollards to intersections.

Under the current draft, the downtown State Street corridor between Gutierrez and Sola streets would be redesigned.

The plan would split those nine blocks into three districts: the entertainment district, the civic and commercial district, and the arts district.

State Street sidewalks in those districts would be expanded to 30 feet on both sides, with two 10-foot travel lanes in the center of the street.

The city also would install retractable bollards at each intersection along downtown State Street on the 400 to 1300 blocks. They could be lowered and raised using remotes, which also would allow emergency vehicles through at any time.

This setup would allow for more flexibility and vehicle access at selected times, city staff have said.

The City Council reviewed the draft plan in April. At that time, it chose to hold off on a decision regarding vehicle access hours for that section of State Street.

The city will learn whether it gets the state grants for those projects in the fall, staff said.