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SBCAG Welcomes New Board Members You can’t tell the players without a scorecard The largest leadership turnover in SBCAG’s history will occur at the January meeting in Santa Maria as seven new members take their seats on the SBCAG board. Outgoing Board members represent nearly 40 years of experience on the SBCAG Board. Their important service to the community was recognized with Resolutions of Appreciation for their contributions to regional planning issues.
Until the City of Carpinteria appoints a new representative, Donna Jordan will replace former SBCAG Chair and Carpinteria Mayor, Dick Weinberg and Russ Hicks will move from his seat as Buellton Mayor Bill Traylor’s alternate to a Board member position. Jack Hawxhurst will switch from Board member to Jonny Wallace’s alternate from the Goleta City Council and Brian Baca will replace Dave Smyser from the Solvang City Council. Sam Arca’s former alternate, newly elected Guadalupe Mayor Lupe Alvarez, will serve on the Board until a permanent representative is selected. Dick DeWees, Mayor of Lompoc was selected by his peers as SBCAG Chair for 2005 and Joe Centeno, Fifth District Supervisor, will serve as Vice Chair. “Next year will be a challenging time for the SBCAG Board as we try to keep important transportation projects like the Highway 101 Operational Improvements and the Santa Maria 101 widening projects on track despite the State’s ongoing fiscal problems” stated Jim Kemp, SBCAG Executive Director. “I will miss all of our outgoing Board members. “The collective experience of the last Board will be difficult to replace, but I’m looking forward to the dialogue that will come from so many new perspectives on regional issues.” |
New incoming Board members offer a
wide range of government experience and perspectives. Long-time
assistant to Supervisor Naomi Schwartz, Salud Carbajal, replaces his
mentor as the First District Supervisor and former State
Assemblymember Brooks Firestone will replace Gail Marshall as Third
District Supervisor.|
How Can Transit Better Serve Your Needs? The Santa Barbara County Association of Governments would like to hear what new bus routes or service schedules are needed in north Santa Barbara County to help you get where you need to go. Please attend a public hearing on January 20th at 10:00 am to let our local government leaders hear your ideas on ways to improve local community bus service. The Unmet Transit Needs hearing will be held at the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors Hearing room at the County Government Center in Santa Maria, 511 East Lakeside Parkway. Spanish translation will be available. If you unable to attend the meeting, you can call the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments at 961-8900 or visit www.sbcag.org to submit your comments. |
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Highway 101 Operational Improvements receive OK from Santa Barbara City Planning Commission Measure D funds keep project moving ahead
Originally approved by the SBCAG Board in 1996, the more than $37 million Highway 101 Operational Improvement Projects include a wide range of congestion relieving improvements to Highway 101 from Santa Barbara to Montecito. Beginning in late 2006 or early 2007, the Highway 101 will be widened with a third southbound lane from Milpas to Cabrillo/Hot Springs and new auxiliary lanes northbound. The Milpas Street Bridge and Sycamore Creek Bridges will be rebuilt and widened to reduce flooding and a new southbound hook off ramp will be added after the Milpas Street overpass. Cacique Street will finally connect the lower eastside neighborhood to the waterfront via a new street connection under the freeway and new pedestrian and bicycle paths will be added under the Cabrillo/Hot Springs overpass. A new gateway roundabout will ease traffic in Montecito at the congested Coast Village Road /Hot Springs/Old Coast Highway intersection and new sound walls will protect the Santa Barbara Zoo and the Municipal Tennis Courts from freeway noise. Despite California’s transportation funding crisis, which has virtually stopped all new highway construction in the state, the 101 operational improvements will continue to make progress thanks to the availability of local Measure D transportation sales tax funds. The Measure D half-cent sales tax, approved by Santa Barbara County voters in 1989, specifically designated this revenue for transportation improvements. Anticipating the State’s inability to keep highway construction projects on track, the SBCAG Board of Directors voted to use local sales tax funds to replace lost State funds. This action will enable Caltrans to begin acquiring the right of way necessary for these projects. Without the availability of local discretionary transportation funds, the Highway 101 operational improvements would be stopped dead in the water despite receiving the necessary Coastal Development Permit from the City of Santa Barbara. "This is a big step forward," said planning commissioner Grant House who has worked with Caltrans and SBCAG on Highway 101 advisory committees for nearly a decade. Planning Commission approval of the Highway 101 Operational Improvements capped Commissioner House’s eight years of service on the City Planning Commission. |
The long anticipated and much
needed improvements to Highway 101 between Milpas Street and
Hot Springs Road received unanimous approval last month from the
Santa Barbara City Planning Commission. |
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Pedro Nava to Chair Assembly Transportation Budget Subcommittee
California State Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez (D-Los Angeles) recently appointed local Assemblymember Pedro Nava Chair of the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Transportation and Information Technology. The Subcommittee has jurisdiction over budget issues pertaining to Caltrans, the California Highway Patrol and the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Assemblymember Nava’s appointment comes as California is facing a transportation crisis. Over the past three budget cycles more than $5 billion in transportation funds have been lost. Proposition 42, overwhelmingly approved by state voters in 2002, was intended to dedicate gasoline sales tax revenue exclusively to transportation projects. Since its passage, only 10% of Proposition 42 revenue has been spent on transportation projects because the Governor and Legislature have borrowed the money to balance the general fund deficit.
The public clearly supports investment in California’s transportation infrastructure as election results prove. Concerns about traffic congestion often top lists of Californians' worries about the future. Any further suspension to Proposition 42 will exacerbate traffic congestion, reduce job growth, and impact the state's economic expansion. Sacramento must recognize what local voters around the state already understand – investing in transportation improvements is vital to preserving California’s quality of life.
Assemblymember Nava’s Transportation Budget Subcommittee will likely be ground zero in this year’s battle over state transportation funds as many expect yet another raid on Proposition 42 transportation dollars.
According to a recent Santa Barbara News Press article, Mr. Nava said the Subcommittee Chairmanship "is great for the district" because of the transportation concerns on the Central Coast. Responding to concerns about another raid on Proposition 42 funds to help balance the budget, Mr. Nava promised "I'm telling people in building trades, commuters, families, that my job is to hold onto that money."
Road Closures Highlight Region’s Interdependence
Damage to roads will slow street maintenance schedules
The
first 24 hours of the early January storms brought a series of
landslides and
floods that severed vital transportation arteries
in Santa Barbara County. Torrential rains caused flooding
and mudslides in several locations near La Conchita that covered Highway 101 in up to
seven feet of mud. The flooding dropped huge boulders onto
Highway 154, limiting access to the Santa Ynez Valley. A
bridge on Rincon Creek was washed out, closing Highway 150 from Carpinteria to Ojai for several
weeks. A
portion of Highway 1 south of Lompoc collapsed, forcing commuters
and the Clean Air Express to use Highway 246 to reach the South
Coast. The only access in or out of southern Santa Barbara
County was on Highway 101 through Gaviota, the northbound
section of which was closed by mudslides the last week of
December.
The road closures caused by the storm damage have resulted in enormous economic impacts as thousands of commuters, visitors and suppliers could not reach the South Coast, or were required to take detours that added hours to their trips. The large number of critical service workers such as nurses, fire fighters and utility maintenance personnel who live in Ventura County were unable to reach their South Coast work sites. According to local officials, the costly repairs will likely affect regular neighborhood street maintenance schedules, as limited road repair funds will need to be shifted from maintenance to emergency repair.
The events of the past week emphasize how tenuous our transportation connections are and underscore the increasing interdependence of our region as a whole. It also highlights the importance of the transportation funds generated locally by Measure D, without which the region would be even more hard-pressed to respond to Mother Nature’s challenges.
Visit www.sbcag.org to see aerial pictures of the La Conchita mudslide and Highway 101 damage.
All meetings are open to the public. Individuals needing special accommodations to participate in the meeting should contact SBCAG at least three work days prior to the scheduled meeting. Various other meetings, workshops, and public hearings are held periodically. For meeting locations, agendas or questions, call SBCAG at (805) 961-8900 or visit www.sbcag.org |
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