I hate Santa Barbara (San Jose, Vista: 2009, construction, earthquakes)

[rc251dc]

No one knows the answer to the above? Maybe I'll try firing off some emails to the city government about it's poor city planning.

[mesaverde]

Well, I do know that the Goleta Depot, which is now the Railroad Museum (on Los Carneros) used to be the train station for Southern Pacific route, but service stopped in 1965. There's a detailed history of the Depot, but no mention of when service opened up where it is presently today.

I'll agree, having taken the train to San Diego from that stop, that it's in the absolutely most absurd place imaginable. I'd love to know how that happened..

Reference: Goleta Depot: The Southern Pacific Years, 1901-1975

[Winston Smith]

Originally Posted by rc251dc

Is it just me, or was placing the station at La Patera a failure of epic proportions?

Originally Posted by mesaverde

I'll agree, having taken the train to San Diego from that stop, that it's in the absolutely most absurd place imaginable. I'd love to know how that happened..

Yeah, that Goleta train station. Nothing like arriving there on the late Amtrak from L.A. at something-past 10 p.m. only to be standing in the middle of a bunch of industrial buildings down a dark street, half a mile from the airport's outskirts and one of the loneliest most desolate stretches of Hollister -- where the last bus heading to civilization stopped running hours before.

But this is Santa Barbara, so I suspect it's all about politics, property ownership rights and wranglings with the track owners, Union Pacific. Eh-hem, someone holding someone else hostage or trying not to be held hostage, back and forth. In Santa Barbara, these things are never easy!

I can only imagine the negotiations between Santa Barbara County, Amtrak, Union Pacific and local property interests. Did I mention the Coastal Commission? Oh yeah, them too! Anyway: "Sure, put your station here by Fareview or Storke where it makes sense. It'll only cost a bazillion dollars in monthly lease payments. Those condos next door? Never mind them, hehe!" Or, "Well, Santa Barbara, we're the railroads so what we say goes. It's more convenient for us to put your station where we say. Amtrak priority?" Of course Amtrak gets a puny little voice in there somewhere -- all the way from D.C. Oh, I forgot, LOSSAN.... Right! Tiny little Goleta somewhere in the sticks way "up north" should get priority with some silly wish about where to put their station in the face of everything everybody else wants along the LOSSAN corridor. Good luck! In Santa Barbara when it comes to things like transportation, oil or land-use rights, it's usually mess looking for a lawsuit. IOW, just be happy Goleta has a station at all. Nutshell version.

The best thing SB/Goleta residents can do is lobby the MTD for a regular bus route to meet the train. The MTD is the most flexible agency in all of this IMO, but they're no sweethearts either. Just look at how long they've been struggling with their "south coast transit master plan" or whatever it's called.

[Oerdin]

Originally Posted by rc251dc

Why the hell was the Goleta Amtrak Station built on La Patera? Ok, I mean, I assume land their was owned by Amtrak. But there is zero public transportation directly at the station. Currently, anyone wanting to take public transportation must walk half a mile to Hollister, where they can take either the 6 (which serves UCSB but NOT Isla Vista) or the infrequent 12X.

Yeah, I've gone into that station (can you call a platform with no buildings or even a park bench a station?) several times (but all more then 10 years ago). I believe the issue is that AmTrak doesn't actually own the rail line or any of the land and instead they're simply using the existing freight lines. It is inconvenient and more then a mile away from I.V. or the airport terminal which are the destinations for virtually everyone at that stop.

[mesaverde]

You are probably right. I remember reading that it was a kind of partnership between several agencies, one of which is CalTrans. I know that there were upgrades and modifications that were supposed to take place, that never did due to funding. One issue was that the cul-de-sac was too small for a bus to complete a turnaround, and this may be why there is no public transportation to the actual station. In any event, it is a shame that it's not a better thought out location. For all the looking I did, I was still not able to determine why it was put there.

[rc251dc]

I know that Union Pacific does own the track rights for a lot of the corridor. However, there do seem to be vacant parcels that could support a new rail station. For example, the southeast corner of the 101/Storke intersection seems to have a lot of space, as does the parcel of land slightly west of the southwest corner of that same intersection. But yeah, I've been unfortunate enough to also arrive at that station. Luckily I've always had rides set up. The one time I didn't, I specifically chose to stop at Santa Barbara instead for the bus access, even though it ultimately required more traveling. And I guess the Santa Barbara station is actually pretty nice...

I don't know if I can count on SBMTD to fill the gap though. I mean, they haven't even uploaded their routes yet to Google Maps/Google Transit yet. That kind of forward thinking is against what Santa Barbara stands for I guess. And I did read in the CalTrans files that apparently the roundabout wasn't built big enough for a bus to circle around... that is so ridiculous I have no words...

By the way, here's a little map I've been working on highlighting Goleta's development:

Google Maps - My Goleta Master Plan

Green is approved projects slated to begin construction, orange is developments still going through the planning process, and blue is my own wishlist. I also always thought that building basic shopping in Isla Vista (as controversial as taking away the Del Sol Open Space) would reduce traffic tremendously, as students have to shuttle out of Storke and Los Carneros to take care of basic tasks. That area of land would put shopping within 5 minute biking distance of all of Isla Vista, and almost everyone already owns bikes there.

[Winston Smith]

Originally Posted by rc251dc

I know that Union Pacific does own the track rights for a lot of the corridor. However, there do seem to be vacant parcels that could support a new rail station. For example, the southeast corner of the 101/Storke intersection seems to have a lot of space, as does the parcel of land slightly west of the southwest corner of that same intersection.

Wouldn't any attempts to build something like a train station at the locations you mentioned involve an incredible amount of negotiations and deliberations?

Originally Posted by rc251dc

I don't know if I can count on SBMTD to fill the gap though. I mean, they haven't even uploaded their routes yet to Google Maps/Google Transit yet. That kind of forward thinking is against what Santa Barbara stands for I guess. And I did read in the CalTrans files that apparently the roundabout wasn't built big enough for a bus to circle around... that is so ridiculous I have no words...

Agree here. The MTD for all its PR efforts to be friendly and forward thinking, behind the scenes strikes me as stodgy and self-serving. How long it took to get express bus service to Carpinteria? And, they only started it after Ventura County extended its VISTA service to Santa Barbara County -- defacto creating a Carp - SB express. Then, the MTD refused to cooperate in any way shape or form with VISTA, refused to offer schedule or passenger info at the Transit Center's info booth. Most recently, MTD refuses to collaborate on any kind of integrated transfer or smart-card fare system (proposed by Ventura County) that would allow more seamless travel between the two systems -- to great benefit of the traveling public! So for an agency whose stated purpose is to enhance Santa Barbara's transit options, they clearly don't want outside help. As such, it's no wonder a gap in the system exists as it relates to Goleta Amtrak.

As to the turnaround not being big enough for a bus, Amtrak's buses manage to serve the station! Besides, why can't MTD use a smaller bus? A shuttle to get people to IV, Calle Real, Storke, that's all! The MTD doesn't want to. It's not their problem so they won't present any options.

PS. rc251dc, interesting maps by the way.

[rc251dc]

I don't think Amtrak busses service the Goleta Station, only the Santa Barbara one. Just a little background on me, I was a UCSB student from San Francisco, graduated in 2008, and now back in SF. I got a car my last year at SB because I thought the public transportation here was pretty bad... not just SB MTD, but also Amtrak.

I've taken Amtrak many times (Capitol Corridor, Goleta to San Diego, Goleta to SLO then Amtrak bus to San Francisco) and the system has a lot of problems, including the single tracking through most of the central coast. Anyway, since I left school, I've been following the Isla Vista Master plan, UCSB Vision 2025, and develeopment projects in Goleta closely.

I'm a firm believe in a state-wide integrated transportation system, and also building shopping near dense development to reduce automobile traffic. Hence the Isla Vista Marketplace. Living in Isla Vista, any time I needed to take care of shopping, I had to leave Isla Vista. Basic goods, doctor appointments, watching a movie, etc.

I hear a lot of Goletians complain about student traffic, and I think building a post office, Rite-Aid, Safeway (err Vons ), first-run movie theatre, Trader Joes, and In-N-Out (please??) right inside Isla Vista would wipe out a lot of traffic to Camino Real and Fairview. Hopefully the Cabrillo Business Park will have offices for dentists and stuff like that, which will also be within easy distance of Isla Vista. The students all have bikes already, why not take advantage of that by building right in IV? There's still some development space between Francisco Torres and Santa Ynez, in the open space preserves (I know that building there will likey never happen), and to the west of Harder Stadium.

As for the map, there's some wrong colors and errors, but I'll try to update it and include links to the projects in a few days. Most of the information I got was from independent.com or the UCSB future housing webpage.

[silver47ag]

I forgot there were no homeless in San Fancisco, and Berkley is a swell campus with amazing things to do. And San Fran has amazing year round weather and sunny fun beaches, not to mention how amazingly clean in comparison to SB that SF is. Get a life it's smaller full of richer prettier people and a knowledge that living is the key to life. I believe some other posts have recommended some nice cities.

[AnniefromLO]

Santa Barbara is a nice place. This thread is stupid.