City Adjusts Traffic Light Timing Through Old Town

Santa Barbara Daily Sound
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
By Colby Frazier
Daily Sound Staff Writer

An effort to improve traffic flow through Old Town Goleta was completed yesterday, after city engineers changed the timing of five traffic signals between Fairview Avenue and State Highway 217 along the Hollister Avenue corridor.

The project began about six months ago when the city installed a new traffic signal at Kinman Avenue and Hollister.

While installing the new signal, officials decided to put the remaining five signals on a more updated timing schedule that included motion sensors, which will trigger light changes.

The "system in place in the past had gone into disrepair prior to the city's incorporation," said Marti Schultz, the city's principal civil engineer. "With that installation [at Kinman Avenue] we reconnected the entire system and put it back in working order."

Shultz said the previous lights were on a set timing system, which wouldn't change regardless of the flow of traffic on crossing streets.

Kirsten Zimmer Deshler, a spokeswoman for the city said the old setup was frustrating to drivers because it forced traffic to stop every hundred feet.

Schultz said the only hiccup residents may notice are perceived delays on side streets that cross Hollister Avenue.

"They will experience possibly a little bit longer wait time," Schultz said of traffic on cross streets. "If they do, then they should be patient, it's not broken but there has been a change."

"Vehicles will now be able to travel on Hollister Avenue through Old Town with less stopping and starting which results in less wear and tear on vehicles and is good for the environment," said Steve Wagner, community services director for the city.

Posted with permission from the Santa Barbara Daily Sound.