CHUMASH, SBCAG CO-HOST BUS TOUR FOR SANTA YNEZ VALLEY TRAFFIC STUDY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Veronica Sandoval
vsandoval@sychumashfoundation.org
SANTA YNEZ, CA — February 21, 2019 — About 50 local residents participated in a bus tour along Highways 101, 246 and 154 to identify problem areas and pitch possible solutions during a preliminary phase of the Santa Ynez Valley Traffic Circulation and Safety Study.
The Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG), in partnership with the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, is conducting the traffic study to comprehensively assess and identify needed current and forecasted future circulation and safety improvements with the mission of delivering a better quality of life for pedestrians, cyclists, residents, businesses and motorists in the Santa Ynez Valley.
“The tribe is committed to participating in looking at the overall traffic and safety in the valley, and we’re happy to be able to host everyone (in Hotel Corque’s meeting space) and use one of our buses to show us some of the congestion points,” said Kenneth Kahn, Tribal Chairman of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. “We want to thank the county and SBCAG for making sure the tribe is involved in this. A lot of our
tribal members live on or off the reservation, and our businesses are throughout the valley, so we’re just as concerned about safety.”
The study is paid for by a Caltrans grant of $300,000 and matching funds of $25,000 from both the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians and SBCAG.
“Today, we want to hear from the community,” said Santa Barbara County 3rd District Supervisor Joan Hartmann in her welcome message. “All of us are smarter than any one of us. We need all of us to put our heads together to keep the quality of life that we enjoy here in the valley and deal with our transportation issues.”
The bus tour gave participants the opportunity to focus on 12 designated areas: Sycamore Drive and Hwy. 246; the Albertsons parking lot and Hwy 246; Alisal Road and Hwy. 246; Alamo Pintado and Hwy. 246; Refugio Road and Hwy. 246; Edison Road and Hwy. 246; Armor Ranch Road and Hwy. 154; the roundabout at Highways 154 and 246; a Camp 4 driveway on Hwy 154; Baseline and Edison roads and Hwy. 154; Roblar Road and Hwy. 154; and Grand Avenue and Hwy. 154.
Participants made notes along the tour and returned to Hotel Corque for a hosted lunch with a discussion about the problem areas they observed and the possible solutions.
Senior Engineer Deepak Kaushik of Iteris, the consulting firm tasked with conducting the study, noted that valuable observations and suggestions made by the community will go into a report highlighting potential areas of concern and possible recommendations.
Kaushik said the next step will be to conduct traffic counts at various congestion points once Highway 154 reopens, and those findings will be shared at one of two upcoming workshops, which will be open to the public.
For more information on the Santa Ynez Valley Traffic Circulation and Safety Study, visit http://www.sbcag.org/syvprojects.html.
The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians owns and operates the Chumash Casino Resort, which is located on the tribe’s reservation on Highway 246 in Santa Ynez, California. The tribe also owns Hotel Corque, Root 246 and Hadsten House in Solvang, Kitá Wines and two gas stations in Santa Ynez. As the largest employer in the Santa Ynez Valley, the tribe employs more than 2,000 residents of Santa Barbara County.