EDITORIAL (Continued from page 5)
Rumors of the closing of the left-lane, ramps without a new replacement were premature and false. Left-hand ramps will be replaced by newly constructed right-hand ramps. As happens today, local southbound exit and entry traffic will pass under the widened freeway to access Sheffield Drive, South Jameson, and Ortega Hill Road. Every effort will be made to retain and improve the ocean views that make this intersection one of the most beautiful along the 101. Northbound lanes will be elevated to improve ocean views in both directions. Southbound lanes will be slightly lower. Design review will be shared by SBCAG and Caltrans, the lead agency. Coastal Commission permitting will be the responsibility of the County Planning Commission, working in concert with SBCAG and Caltrans.
San Ysidro Road (Exit 93)
The San Ysidro southbound on-ramp is arguably the least safe intersection in Montecito, though the accident rate has been lower than the statewide average. The southbound on-ramp past the Miramar and Posilipo Lane is an accident waiting to happen. What we really need is: 1) to widen the rightof-way by acquiring and removing the two historic homes on the right as you enter the southbound 101; and 2) to have negotiated with the Miramar, prior to its construction approvals, for a widened north Jameson right-ofway. Neither of these happened under the term of former county supervisor Salud Carbajal. The southbound off-ramp at San Ysidro is negatively impacted by the proximity of the Olive Mill on-ramp. In addition, the San Ysidro overpass above the 101 needs to be expanded to full width, similar to the overpasses in Carpinteria. Six 101 lanes can be accommodated under the existing San Ysidro overpass, but it is very tight. Sadly, Caltrans plans no improvements to this intersection. There have been discussions of a new roundabout at North Jameson and San Ysidro. This may have strong neighborhood objections. Permitting control lies with the County of Santa Barbara. Where the funding of $7 to $10 million for the roundabout will come from remains a mystery.
Olive Mill Road (Exit 94A)
The northbound off-ramp feeds directly into the 5-way intersection at Coast Village Road and Olive Mill, where a new roundabout is being considered by the City of Santa Barbara. The northbound on-ramp is at the far end of Coast Village Road, past the current Montecito traffic circle. The southbound offramp dead ends at Olive Mill Road, a block south of Coast Village Road. The southbound on-ramp crowds into the space needed for southbound exit at San Ysidro. Permitting control lies with the City of Santa Barbara and the County Planning Commission.
Hermosillo Drive/Coast Village Road (Exit 94B)
The northbound off-ramp at Hermosillo was originally considered for closure. Thanks to vocal efforts by the Hermosillo Homeowners’ Association and the Middle Road Homeowners’ Association during the Draft EIR comment period, retaining the Hermosillo Drive/Coast Village Road exit as a valuable local community asset was included in the Caltrans preferred final F-modified plan for the 101 improvement.
Hot Springs/Cabrillo Boulevard (Exit 94C)
The Caltrans plan is to totally rebuild this interchange. Permitting control lies with the City of Santa Barbara. Advantages include: 1) closing the current northbound left-lane off-ramp to the Cabrillo stoplight and replacing it with a safer traditional right-lane exit; 2) closing the current southbound left-lane off-ramp from the 101 and replacing it with a safer traditional right-lane exit; and 3) most importantly, re-opening a new southbound right-lane on-ramp, closed during the Milpas to Hot Springs widening. Reopening the southbound on-ramp at Cabrillo Boulevard is essential to reducing traffic congestion on Coast Village Road. The preferred Caltrans design for the Hot Springs/Cabrillo interchange is known as the F-modified configuration.
Los Patos Way (Exit 95)
The existing southbound 101 off-ramp with the undersized railroad bridge clearance will be closed.
Caltrans/SBCAG Imposed Design Constraints
The Caltrans 101 widening will be confined to the existing Caltrans 101 rightof-way with no additional right-of-way purchases along the entire corridor. This has particularly punishing implications for Montecito, which has by far the narrowest corridor space, necessitating: lanes under 12 feet wide; narrow shoulders; thin highway dividers without median landscaping. The intent is for Caltrans to include a part-time HOV lane from the Ventura 16 – 23 March 2017
County Line to the Milpas interchange to comply with the 79% voter approval of the “101 in Motion” program.
Widening Implementation Plan for Phase 4 (Carpinteria to Santa Barbara)
This week, SBCAG meets in Santa Maria to vote on the preferred Phase 4 widening plan from Carpinteria to Santa Barbara. The preferred plan from Corridor Advisor consultant Tony Harris is to divide the work into five widening phases, starting in Carpinteria, moving northward. The cost per mile of each widening segment becomes progressively more expensive as the widening moves northward. Carpinteria City government is eager and enthusiastic to have the widening finished and will quickly work for Coastal Commission permitting. At the other end of the corridor, it appears that the mayor, her transportation manager, and some city council members, are still tied to the failed strategy of using their permitting power to hold the widening program hostage until Caltrans agrees to include the mayor’s pet parallel projects – $25 million for the widening of the Union Pacific railroad bridge at Cabrillo Boulevard and a $7-to-$10 million roundabout at Olive Mill in the mainline Caltrans widening budget to avoid local funding obligations. The mayor apparently remains a supporter of the delay-driven Mark Chytilo Draft EIR lawsuit, now before Superior Court judge Thomas Anderle. Phase A will be a Carpinteria widening from its Bailard interchange to Santa Claus Lane. Already funded, construction could begin in parallel with the current Carpinteria bridge replacement project. Phase B will be widening from Santa Claus Lane to the North Padaro Lane interchange. There is no new bridge construction. Some funding exists. Phase C will be widening in Summerland from the North Padaro Lane intersection to the Sheffield intersection, which will be totally rebuilt. Coastal permitting is the responsibility of the County Planning Commission, chaired by District 1 local wise man C. Michael Cooney, supported by appointed county commissioners from districts 2-5. Phase D will be the widening from Sheffield Drive to Olive Mill, again a county permitting responsibility. There is no new overpass construction. A number of creek bridges will be replaced. Phase E is the final, most expensive, and most contentious phase of the widening between the Olive Mill interchange and the to-be totally reconstructed Cabrillo Boulevard/Hot Springs interchange. The end of construction date will likely be close to 2030 even if federal funding is forthcoming.
Feelings and Attitudes in Montecito
The majority in Montecito say, “Get on with. It will be painful, but widen it as quickly and as painlessly as possible. We cannot function as a community without having an optimal commuter route for our Ventura-based work force. Why has this widening taken 52 years – and counting?” The Mark Chytilo group, engaged in the EIR lawsuit against Caltrans, claims the third lanes will be choked as soon as they are finished. Therefore, according to Chytilo, what we need to do is to scrap all the planning and construction of a third lane and turn to a rail solution. This sounds good to some environmentalists but would add 100 years to the current 52-year schedule. SBCAG is onboard with the widening and enthusiastic about moving ahead. They want the freeway to be widened as designed, and at the least cost by soliciting state and federal highway funding now. The Montecito Association (MA) Transportation Committee still has a few holdovers that cling to the fight for the current left-lane entrances and exits. Lobbying to retain left-lane ramps has delayed the project by two years. The left-hand lane debate was ended the day Caltrans declared publicly that left lanes are no longer safe in new highway construction. Both the California Highway Patrol and the governor concurred in that assessment, noting that if left-lane ramps remained, and an accident occurred, Caltrans would lose every lawsuit, resulting in massive judgments against the state for allowing lanes to be used that they had declared unsafe. There is value in the MA team working with design consultant Harris, but critical decisions have already been locked in concrete (no pun intended). Montecito needs to focus its efforts and limited voice on trying to build a scenic Sheffield interchange; finding a way to improve the interchange at San Ysidro; mitigating the prospect of a concrete median barrier with no landscaping; maximizing shoulder widths; and deciding whether this community wants or needs a roundabout at Olive Mill and San Ysidro – and if so, who will pay for it. For once, this community and its political leaders at SBCAG need to get on the same page, develop a voracious appetite for discovery of the facts, a passion for the exchange of ideas, and the wisdom to recognize that gridlock and further delay are not our friends. •MJ
It is important to express oneself, provided the feelings are real and taken from your own experience. – Berthe Morisot
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