Council hopefuls address transportation issues

ERIC LINDBERG
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

Yesterday, the Daily Sound published responses from Santa Barbara City Council candidates Brian Barnwell, Dale Francisco, Michelle Giddens and Robert Hansen on the topic of transportation.
Here are the remaining four candidates and how they propose to move forward, if elected, during the next four years on issues concerning traffic congestion and alternative sources of transportation.

Challenger Frank Hotchkiss:
While Hotchkiss admitted he is not an expert in transportation and traffic circulation engineering, he said his stance on how the city needs to address congestion concerns is fairly straightforward.
"Clearly I'm a car guy," Hotchkiss said.
Reiterating a statement he made earlier in his campaign, he said Santa Barbara needs to prepare for a future with cars, instead of trying to force them into alternative forms of transportation.
"At least let's not plan on someone not having a car," Hotchkiss said, referring to downtown housing complexes that offer just one parking space for two-bedroom units.
In terms of local transportation, he said busing and biking aren't workable options for most Santa Barbara residents.
"The people that I see riding buses are people without cars and who won't be getting a car," Hotchkiss said.
People want to come to State Street in their car, park and then walk, rather than hassling with bus schedules, he said, suggesting that another parking structure on downtown State Street may be needed.
He called MTD buses between UC Santa Barbara and downtown a good application of public transportation, saying they keep students who come from Isla Vista to drink in downtown bars on Friday and Saturday nights from driving on local streets and highways.
As far as regional transportation, Hotchkiss said commuter rail is an "enormously expensive" venture with an "uncertain" outcome.
"Just because of the fluidity and adaptability of buses, that just seems logically to be the way to go," Hotchkiss said. "...Rail doesn't really work as a means of transportation for long distances."
Regional bus service and widening Highway 101 will undoubtedly help commuter congestion, he said. When asked about adding a carpool lane, Hotchkiss said while it may annoy some people to sit in traffic while others fly by, it is worth a test run.
He also tossed out the idea of offering a diamond lane pass for single-occupancy vehicles, bringing in more revenue to fund other transportation projects.

Challenger Dan Litten:
A doctor who often rides his bike to work at Cottage Hospital, Litten called for more bicycle paths and an increased focus on roadway safety. With on- and off-road bike paths, railway right-of-ways and more city workers focused on traffic safety, local residents will feel safer riding their bikes.
"It's obviously not going to solve all of the problems, but it will lighten the load," Litten said.
Pointing out recent pedestrian and bicycle accidents, he said transportation spending needs to include a bigger component of public transportation and bicycle safety.
Litten said he supports both regional busing and commuter rail, and feels the city is moving forward in both areas.
"Commuter rail is many, many more years in the making," Litten said. "More busing is something that can be done more quickly."
City officials can coordinate with large employers to make busing more accessible, he said, pointing out that taking long-distance commuters who work at Cottage Hospital alone off Highway 101 and housing them closer to the hospital will have a noticeable impact on traffic.
Although Litten didn't disagree that widening Highway 101 will ease some congestion once construction is complete, he said the process will come with many negative side effects.
"That's going to lead to years of impact on neighborhoods around there with massive construction equipment, noise and pollution," Litten said. "...It's probably too late to stop that expansion."
Litten said the upcoming widening project between Milpas Street and Hot Springs Road is just another reason to provide more bus service to the north and south.

Incumbent Helene Schneider:
Issues surrounding transportation is key in how Santa Barbara moves forward with its General Plan update, Schneider said, adding that traffic issues are intricately intertwined with housing and protecting open space.
"My overarching philosophy basically goes back to what our circulation element says: cars should be a choice, not a necessity," Schneider said. "We need to do what we can to create policies within the city and work with regional groups to provide options for commuters."
As a member of the Council's commuter rail subcommittee and the liaison to MTD, Schneider said as the city moves forward with commuter rail concepts, there needs to be a focus on enhancing transit to make sure there are no gaps between the train, bus and the final destination. She highlighted a recent expansion of MTD bus lines that saw an 8 percent increase in ridership during the first month of operation.
With the Highway 101 widening project starting next year, Schneider said an action plan approved by the Council has baby-step options that will help congestion, such as changing Amtrak schedules to be more commuter-friendly. Working with Union Pacific and finding a compromise that mutually benefits both passenger and freight traffic is also key to moving forward with a commuter rail plan, she added.
In terms of bicycle safety, building more bike lanes and improving sidewalk conditions, Schneider said those projects need to be funded somehow.
"It's imperative that we have a fair Measure D that has these options and passes countywide," she said. "It will affect not only transportation, but the quality of city streets."
Bringing her focus back to Plan Santa Barbara, Schneider said providing sufficient parking and giving local residents and tourists plenty of options to get around the city is going to be a huge topic.
"People will always use their cars," she said. "That's a given. ... It's just giving people the option to use the best mode that fits for that day. We don't want to create policies that will force them into just one option."

Incumbent Das Williams:
In the past, different forms of transportation such as buses, cars and trains often competed for sources of funding, Williams said. But with recent bond measures approved by Governor Schwarzenegger, he said the city needs to pursue all options as soon as possible.
"My feeling is our traffic problem is so huge that we need to be very pragmatic about using every tool at our disposal," Williams said.
Investing in railroad sidings and more stretches of double tracks, widening Highway 101, and expanding commuter buses and MTD all need to take place soon to have a real impact on transportation woes, he said.
"Just the Milpas [Street] to Hot Springs [Road expansion project] is going to take three to four years," Williams said. "Each stretch is like $150 million. We're talking a huge amount of time and a huge amount of cash."
The cost of getting Amtrak to add another daily trip to its schedule is small by comparison, he said. Working with Ventura and Oxnard officials is necessary to make commuter rail a viable option, Williams said, since a huge portion of commuters come from those areas.
He sees three broad changes that need to be made to reduce commuter congestion: improving the transportation system, locating more of the city's workforce downtown, or getting rid of excess commercial space.
"Commercial buildings generate more traffic than anything else does," he said, suggesting reducing retail on upper State Street through rezoning or on a project-by-project basis.
How much parking is required for housing developments also needs to be determined case-by-case, Williams said. Some projects, such as Casa de Las Fuentes, don't need as much parking. Offering cheaper rent for apartments with less or no parking, and having someone onsite to enforce that, is another solution, he said.
"I would challenge anyone who says we don't have enough parking downtown," Williams said. "We have plenty of parking."