NEXT WALK:  June 22 – Join us in the Spring 2011 for Walking Wednesdays!

FREE and open to ALL – 4^th Wednesday of the month during Daylight Savings

What Is It?

The walks are a leisurely hour and a half, each month featuring a different theme, location and guest leader. The benefits are varied: exercise, learning about and enjoying our community, and appreciating the slower pace that walking affords us.

Previous walks include:

• Jeff Shelton’s Architecture -  featuring his whimsical creations to include Cota Street Studios, El Andaluz and the Ablitt’s Tower.
• Trees of the Santa Barbara Skyline – from the history of the Moreton Bay Fig at the Train Station to the difference between a fan palm and feather palm.
• Everyday Art – the stories behind the hidden and not so hidden public art that can be found throughout downtown Santa Barbara on prominent corners and in winding paseos.
• Architecture of the Eastside/Upper State Street Neighborhoods – from French Norman to Dutch Colonial to Spanish Revival, participants sharpen their architecture knowledge and learn details to look for when appreciating the various styles.
• Mission Creek: Floods to Fish – to better understand how an urban creek functions both for flood protection and fish passage of the endangered steelhead trout.

What People Are Saying:
“I have lived here for 50 years and am just now really appreciating the beauty of this town.”
“The walks are both fun and educational.”
“Great idea and great company as well as great information.”
“I’m definitely coming back next month!”

Curb extensions at Chapala and De La Guerra

They are in the news and in our neighborhoods.  If you do any walking around town you’ve likely used one.  What’s all the excitement about?  Curb extensions!   Curb extensions are the extension of the sidewalk at an intersection, effectively reducing crosswalk distance and increasing safety for walkers.  Once you have crossed a street with curb extensions, it is hard to understand why we don’t have more of them as they are such an improvement for both walkers and drivers.  Click here for more information and what you can do to get involved.

Walking home from MUS

asked to join the effort by Montecito Union School and since then has been part of a collaborative process working to improve walking along San Ysidro Road.  COAST worked with First District Supervisor Salud Carbajal, County Public Works, Montecito

Union School, and Montecito residents to identify potential solutions.  Through these efforts, the County was awarded $392,000 from a competitive grant process.  The 1/4 mile decomposed granite path will connect Montecito Union School to North Jameson lane, along the west side of San Ysidro Road.

Forced into bike lane along SY Road due to lack of space

This path will not only provide a safer place for students on their way to school but as MUS parent and project initiator Stephen Murdoch noted, “the path will link pedestrians of every age to Miramar Beach, Upper and Lower Manning Parks, Laguna Blanca Lower School and the shopping area of the Upper Village”.

The County has been working with landscape architects and have come up with a beautiful design that will serve the purpose of a safer walking route as well as maintain the semi-rural nature of Montecito.  Someday soon parents with strollers, kids, runners and walkers of all ages will be able to travel San Ysidro Road on foot safely and out of the bike lane like we so often see.

But there are opponents who are working hard to stop this much-needed pathway and have cleared some of the existing shoulder in attempt to sideline the project.  But even after all their efforts people still use the bike lane to walk, which is a clear indication that the path is still needed when people aren’t using what’s there.  San Ysidro Road has over 10,000 cars a day and with distractions such as cell phones, the bike lane is NOT a suitable place for walkers.

The recent community meeting hosted by the First District Supervisor’s office on

An example of a decomposed granite path

Tuesday, June 1 at 6:00 pm at Montecito Union School was a great success!

After First District Supevisor Carbajal’s greeting, County PW gave a presentation about the history of the project and how the design has evolved to address the concerns of the community and Montecito Association.  Following the presentation, there were 4 different locations all with identical sets of plans for people to peruse and add comments.  The layout was complete with containers of decomposed granite.

The meeting was well-attended by both supporters and people who oppose the project because they fear that it will change the character of the community.  The meeting was informative, though the tension was palpable at the beginning, but served to dispel some of the fears that had been generated from misinformation.  See the KEYT clip about the meeting here.

Comments gathered at this meeting will be addressed and incorporated as appropriate.  The County will presented the final design to the Montecito Land Use Committee on July 6 and to the full board on July 13 (both meetings: 4 pm, 1469 East Valley Road).  It’s so important to have supporters at this meeting.

Supporters have been working hard and are excited by the beautiful design and are ready to see the project start.  Once completed the project will be a lovely addition to San Ysidro Road complete with low-water landscaping and meandering decomposed granite path serving people of all ages.

First District Supervisor Salud Carbajal addressing the crowd

Under threat of rain, community stakeholders came out Wednesday, December 17th to celebrate the recent Federal Safe Routes to School grant that was announced to build a

Eva Inbar of COAST, expressing support for the newly funded path

½ mile decomposed granite pathway along the west side of San Ysidro Road from Montecito Union School to North Jameson Road. This path has been a collaborative effort from the start, according to many of the event’s speakers, which included County Supervisor Salud Carbajal, Montecito Union School Superintendent Dick Douglas, Montecito Association President Bill Palladini, and Montecito Trails Foundation

President John Venable, who has committed to maintaining the path.  Appreciation of the process and the partnerships between many entities, which also included County Public Works staff Matt Dobberteen and Bert Johnson, was echoed by many of those in attendance.  As noted by COAST’s Eva Inbar, “the project was based on a remarkable collaboration between many parties” including previous COAST Executive Director Katharine Bechtel who worked on the project.

Parent and advocate, Stephen Murdoch and daughters, commenting on the collaborative process

This path will not only provide a safer place for students on their way to school but as MUS parent and project initiator Stephen Murdoch noted, “the path will link pedestrians of every age to Miramar Beach, Upper and Lower Manning Parks, Laguna Blanca Lower School and the shopping area of the Upper Village”.
Supervisor Carbajal was one of several who stressed that we should celebrate the success of the San Ysidro path and use the momentum to move forward in identifying other locations where we can focus our efforts next. COAST’s newest project, Santa Barbara Walks, will be working to improve pedestrian access to schools, parks, community centers and other public places throughout the South Coast.

The event was a great reminder to the community of the positive impacts that are possible when we work together towards a common goal.

This path will not only provide a safer place for students on their way to school but as MUS parent and project initiator Stephen Murdoch noted, “the path will link pedestrians of every age to Miramar Beach, Upper and Lower Manning Parks, Laguna Blanca Lower School and the shopping area of the Upper Village”.
Supervisor Carbajal was one of several who stressed that we should celebrate the success of the San Ysidro path and use the momentum to move forward in identifying other locations where we can focus our efforts next. COAST’s newest project, Santa Barbara Walks, will be working to improve pedestrian access to schools, parks, community centers and other public places throughout the South Coast.

The event was a great reminder to the community of the positive impacts that are possible when we work together towards a common goal.

Santa Barbara City Councilmember Grant House’s comments in response to the article:

COAST’s work on Unmet Transit Needs (UTN) in North Santa Barbara County
revealed the need for this kind of van service stemming from farmers’
unwillingness to provide rides to backbreaking work in the fields due
primarily to liability concerns.  Public transportation seemed unable to
deliver regular transit service to frequently changing seasonal
destinations.

After providing white papers on Unmet Transit Needs to the County from 2002
to 2006, the hard work of project leader and board member Alex Pujo
uncovered models in other rural counties, idle vans sitting in neighboring
San Luis Obispo County, and possible sources of funding to initiate the
program. Melinda Burns, then with the Santa Barbara News Press, reported
extensively on the workers living in Santa Maria.  The McCune Foundation
provided funding to assist in the research and outreach for COAST’s UTN
project which also resulted in the start up of The Breeze bus service
between Lompoc, Vandenberg Air Force Base, and Santa Maria.

The program has been modeled after the successful farmworker van program in
Kings County.  The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors with leadership
from Supervisor Salud Carbajal supported using vans with drivers recruited
and trained from the affected population.  A win-win for all involved, we
wish the project continued success.

Grant House
Councilmember
City of Santa Barbara
ghouse@santabarbaraca.gov
805 564-5319

Click here to see the Santa Maria Times article

Vanpool speeds into 2nd year
By Steve Pent/Associate Editor

December 7, 2008
Ag Worker Transportation Program vanpool driver Celestina Rangel checks
strawberries Tuesday in a First Harvest field west of Santa Maria. A native
of Oaxaca, Mexico, Rangel has been with the program eight months, carrying
an average of eight to nine passengers every day to the field. Len
Wood/Staff
Celestina Rangel is up early every morning to begin her first job – getting
a van full of strawberry workers to a Guadalupe field by 7 a.m.

Then she joins them for a full day’s work in the fields. Late in the
afternoon, she drives them back to Santa Maria.

This is not your ordinary carpool to and from work. It’s part of the Ag
Worker Transportation Program (AWTP), now in its second year of operation
under the administration of the Santa Maria Organization of Transportation
Helpers (SMOOTH).

Rangel, a Oaxaca native, has been with the program eight months, carrying
eight to nine passengers on average every day to a First Harvest field. Two
months ago, at the height of the season, she had a total of 15 on board.

Rangel used to transport workers in her own van, but had to turn many away
because only seven fit in her vehicle. This posed a problem for some to get
to work.

“Some employers thought one invented that as an excuse to get off work,” she
recalled.

Then her own van was involved in an accident caused by someone else, she
said, and the cost of fixing it was more than the vehicle was worth.

Then she found out about AWTP. She applied at SMOOTH and was approved as a
driver after a two-week application and training process.

In October 2007, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors launched the
program by approving the purchase of nine used vans from Kings County, where
a successful program already was in operation, and authorized applying for a
state grant to expand the fleet of vehicles.

A total of $220,000 was secured for the pilot program from the county, the
city of Santa Maria and the state. In addition, Caltrans notified the county
a year ago that it had received an award of funding for nearly $3.1 million
from the state’s AWTP.

And in March of this year, wondering whether current vans were being used
sufficiently, the supervisors authorized the purchase of eight new vehicles,
not the 25 originally planned.

The program is touted by supporters for providing safe, affordable and
reliable transportation to and from work for agricultural workers, while
reducing the incidence of unlicensed and/or uninsured drivers and the use of
unsafe vehicles.

But it’s not without its critics. Some say public dollars should not be
tapped to transport workers for a private industry, while others oppose
providing a government subsidy for a workforce that is made up largely of
illegal immigrants.

On a recent trip, Rangel began her rounds at 6 a.m. by picking up two
different passengers at their houses, three workers in front of the Good
Samaritan shelter on Morrison Avenue and another three on Cook Street, a
couple blocks from the Blosser Road intersection.

Passenger Miguel Benitez has been using the service for seven months. He
said he used to travel in a private van, but AWTP is more secure.

Alberta Valent’n, Rangel’s neighbor, has been with the vanpool for about six
months. She said she used to pay someone $3.50 a day for a ride, “but this
service is a lot more flexible.”

As a driver, Rangel sees obvious benefits to the program.

“You don’t need to spend on tires, oil changes – the van (program) does it
all,” she said, adding that for unlicensed workers especially, “there is the
benefit of not having your car taken away.”

Then there is the economic incentive. Her riders pay an average of $3 a day,
a savings of up to a $100 a month.

Rangel is also delighted with the rigorous set of safety measures that are
in place for the van.

“They (SMOOTH) are right on top of the check-ups, maintenance, ensuring that
nothing malfunctions, that’s what I like about it,” she said.

On one occasion when the van refused to start, Rangel called the SMOOTH
office with the onboard CB handset, and a replacement van arrived within
minutes.

The program now has 12 vans, with three more to be purchased in February for
the start of the spring season, according to Jim Talbott, SMOOTH executive
director. Five of those will be traveling to Firestone Vineyards, up from
the three now going there during the off season.

“We’ve kept pace with the demand,” he said, adding that growth has met
SMOOTH’s expectations. He noted that the budget allows for the purchase of
up to 34 vans.

AWTP isn’t just for fieldworkers, but for packers, coolers, horse ranches,
wineries, nurseries, and ag offices as well. One of the vans travels all
over, including Santa Ynez and Guadalupe, he said.

“It’s a win-win situation. The vehicles are safe, we’re taking unsafe
vehicles off the road, and there is less emissions,” concluded Talbott.

Some community members are not so optimistic. Program critic Andy Caldwell,
representing the Coalition of Labor, Agriculture and Business (COLAB),
recommended that the county wait until after the pilot program had produced
sufficient results before spending money to purchase any more vans.

“Will this program succeed? Shouldn’t we see if it will be self-sustaining
first?” Caldwell asked at a board meeting at the end of March.

Talbott explained that the program is performing at the expected farebox
growth, meaning that year-to-date fares cover 15 percent of operational
expenses, with 25 percent expected when 12 vans are put on the road come
February.

“To give you a comparison, SMAT (Santa Maria Area Transit) generates a 20 to
21 percent farebox recovery, and that is a fully matured, highly-used
system,” he said.

When the vanpool reaches 25 vehicles, the program will be at 50 percent
farebox recovery, above the state requirement for continued funding, he
predicted.

Rosemary Luque, AWTP

project manager, also sees a lot of growth in the program.

“It has enormous potential. The program was approved in October 2007, and by
January we had three in operation,” she noted.

Learning from the experience of the similar program in Kings County, AWTP
has been able to avoid a number of pitfalls

“They’re the trailblazers; they’ve worked out all the kinks, so we don’t
have to reinvent anything,” she said.

“We’ve tailored our own program, though,” Luque added.

All vans are equipped with a number of features: fire extinguishers updated
every year;

45-day inspections; full service using CHP forms every 6,000 miles;
upholstered seats; rhino lining on the floor instead of carpet; first-aid
kits in line with CHP standards; a complete contact/carrier information
packet on board in case of an emergency; a GPS system; and fares posted on
the sides of the vans.

The standards for drivers are also high: They have to keep a daily log of
each passenger because fares are determined by miles; conduct a daily
inspection of the van; and mail to SMOOTH the fares they’ve collected via
money order as well as all gas receipts (they’re given a fuel card to fill
up the tank).

Luque noted that for some drivers, the process is too involved because of
all the required paperwork, and 20 percent have fallen out of the program
because of it.

But so far, only two prospective drivers have been turned away while 31 have
been certified, three of them as back-ups in case of illness.

And drivers have been forthright as far as turning in accurate paperwork.

“Drivers are so grateful with the program that they don’t want to submit
something that is not right,” Luque said, even though there are no
incentives for drivers except not having to pay for their fare.

December 7, 2008

COAST was pleased to have Tom Roberts as our multi-talented MC for the evening; in addition to managing the evening’s festivities, Tom revealed he is a talented auctioneer, making Greg Mohr really work for his prize as the winner of the commuter bike donated by Open Air Cycles! Our guest speakers for the evening were City Councilmember Helene Schneider and Marcos Vargas from CAUSE, who have both been remarkable transportation advocates in our community.

Martha Siegel presented the second annual Barry Siegel Award, which honors transportation advocates in the community for outstanding contributions to the cause of sustainable transportation, to Sherrie Fisher, Director of Santa Barbara’s MTD. Fisher also received congressional recognition from Rep. Lois Capps, legislative recognition from Assemblymember Pedro Nava and civic recognition from Santa Barbara Mayor Marty Blum.

COAST was honored to celebrate the evening with our supporters, transportation advocates, local politicians, and community members.

A very special thank you to a few of those who made this event possible: The Montecito Jazz Project, Fresco Cafe, Gary Atkins Sound, Kenji Photography, Open Air Bicycles, the Santa Barbara Train Station and our wonderful volunteers: Matt Dobberteen, Kevin Hildenbrandt and Kelly Henderson.

Click here for more images of the event.