With highway safety an escalating concern in the Santa Ynez Valley, officials are stepping up their response.
A Highway 154 Safety Committee meeting in Solvang included an update on projects to reduce crashes and a report on traffic patterns of travelers on the roadway.
Among upcoming changes is a roundabout at the intersection of Highway 154 and Baseline Avenue/Edison Street. A Caltrans representative told the crowd that work is to begin next year at the site, about two miles north of the roundabout at the intersection of highways 154 and 246 east of Santa Ynez.
While most of the meeting centered on residents’ concerns about intersections around Los Olivos, the committee focuses on the stretch of Highway 154 from the Santa Ynez Valley to Santa Barbara.
Peter Hendrix, Caltrans’ district division chief of traffic programs, provided an update on completed and pending road projects.
“There’s a project in development, expected to begin next year, and it’s going to change the all-way stop at Baseline and Edison to a roundabout,” he said.
Caltrans has estimated that the roundabout installation will cost $7 million with construction starting in winter 2024.
Roundabouts have been met with mixed reactions from residents, but Caltrans representatives contend they reduce injury crashes by 76%.
Highway 154 crash trends, according to data from the California Highway Patrol. Credit: California Highway Patrol illustration 
Highway 154 crash factors, according to data from the California Highway Patrol. Credit: California Highway Patrol illustration 
California Highway Patrol Capt. Mike Logie, right, and Lt. Eric Zivic discuss Highway 154 safety issues, including data showing when most crashes occur on the roadway. The officers presented a report at a community meeting of the Highway 154 Safety Committee last week in Solvang. Credit: Janene Scully / Noozhawk photo 
California Highway Patrol Capt. Mike Logie, right, is the CHP’s commander of its Santa Barbara area office while Lt. Eric Zivic is commander of the Buelton area office. The two shared data and information about enforcement, education and other efforts to increase safety on Highway 154. Credit: Janene Scully / Noozhawk photo 
A roundabout is planned for the intersection of Highway 154 at Baseline Avenue/Edison Street near Santa Ynez, with work to start in 2024. Credit: Caltrans illustration
At one time, work was set to begin in 2021, according to a Caltrans schedule in 2020.
California Highway Patrol data for the past 2½ years revealed fewer crashes on the entire 32-mile stretch of roadway, with 152 in 2021, 125 in 2022 and 46 for the first five months of 2023.
DUI crashes numbered eight in 2021 and 15 in 2022, with just one so far this year.
Unsafe turning movements, speeding and DUI account for the top three reasons for crashes on the highway, according to the CHP.
Caltrans is aiming for zero fatal crashes by 2050 throughout California.
“That’s an ambitious goal,” Hendrix said. “It’s not going to be a Caltrans issue. It’s going to be every person in this room, every person in the state of California, every politician and every engineer focused on the idea of saving lives on our roadways.”
Caltrans representatives also pointed out several other steps to boost safety on Highway 154.
This included installation of curve warning signs at several locations.
Crews also added high friction surface treatment at five locations southeast of Cold Spring Bridge, saying the measures can reduce crashes on wet roads by 83% and overall by 57%.
In February, crews conducted vegetation trimming for sight distance at the Foxen Canyon intersection in Los Olivos and Armour Ranch Road just north of the Santa Ynez River.
This summer, workers will replace the historic pedestrian bridge at Alamo Pintado Road.
In 2021, Caltrans also revealed the installation of first-of-its-kind signage.
New signs advising to “Watch for entering vehicles” and “Look left-right-left before pulling out” also have been added at the intersection with Roblar Avenue near Dunn School in Santa Ynez.
A previously completed Santa Ynez Valley Traffic Circulation and Safety Study, spurred by community concerns, recommended some type of improvements at three Highway 154 intersections: Roblar Avenue and Figueroa Mountain Road/Grand Avenue and Foxen Canyon Road in Los Olivos.
“It said some type of intersection treatment is needed, however, we left it to be determined whether it be a roundabout, a traffic signal or a stop sign,” said Mike Becker, director of planning for the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments.
Future projects will be included in a regional plan that identifies priorities as well as funding, if known.
Work on the next regional plan has started and likely will include some improvement projects for Highway 154, but probably won’t have funding sources identified yet.
SBCAG also has collected data to learn more about travel trends in Santa Barbara County, including on Highway 154.
For southbound traffic entering Highway 154 near Los Olivos, data revealed roughly 40% of the trips associated with Highway 154 began outside the county or will end outside the county, Becker said.
“There’s a lot more regional traffic than local traffic on the highway,” he said.
Some 60% of the drivers from both directions travel the entire length of Highway 154, he added.
The data also answered a long-time question that has intrigued regional transportation engineers about Highway 101 vs Highway 154, Becker said.
“In both directions, the 154, it turns out, is more popular for people who are traveling the long distances,” he added.
Local residents have long complained that mobile phone applications divert drivers from the four-lane Highway 101 onto two-lane Highway 154 as a way to trim a few minutes off trips.