Modoc Multi-Use Path Plans to be Unveiled at County Public Meeting

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The County of Santa Barbara announced that a public town hall on the Modoc Multii-Use Path project will be held this week to explain its plans and receive input from the community. The town hall will be held on Thursday, October 26 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at Vieja Valley Elementary School.

This is the first public meeting on the 3/4-mile long Active Transportation gap closure project in a year. The County’s stated goal is to create a path for all users along the Modoc corridor using a balanced design that considers environmental impacts, safety, and existing use of the area. There is currently no path through this busy corridor allowing healthy transportation options for people of all ages, abilities and income levels and many consider it a major barrier for active transportation users.

Concerns have been raised by path supporters that the County’s design may be unsafe and uninviting for some current and potential future users. “We would love to use our 3-wheel trishaws on the path, but our pilots are concerned that it will be too narrow and difficult to navigate safely since it will be a busy path with lots of different users,” says Melissa Cunningham, Coordinator for the local chapter of Cycling without Age. The international group seeks to vitalize the lives of seniors by connecting them with people and the outdoors using primarily 2-seat trishaws pedaled by a trained pilot. The side-by-side trishaws are about 3 1/2 feet wide which leaves inches for passing oncoming users. “We really need safe places for the pilots to pull off the path so they can rest and our passengers can enjoy just being out in nature. I don’t get why the County can’t just locate the path away from the busy road a few more feet.”

The construction plans posted on the County website show that the new path would be 10 feet wide with 5 foot lanes in each direction. In some sections, the path will abut Modoc Road traffic
and bicycle lanes with nothing more than a small curb or striped buffer separating the roadway from the path. Existing bike lanes and traffic lanes on Modoc Rd will remain but will be narrowed in some sections to allow the new path to be located exclusively on County owned right-of-way. Plan revisions posted on the County’s website late last Thursday appear to propose more separation next to the path while further reducing existing bike lane widths on Modoc Road.

The County wants to complete the project using a $5.4 million state Active Transportation Program grant that they obtained in 2019 along with local matching funds. The state funds expire if spending deadlines are missed which nearly happened last year. In November, 2022, the Board of Supervisors adopted an environmental disclosure document following a long and contentious

hearing at which the board committed to evaluating project alternatives that included locating the path in the Modoc Open Space.

The County, La Cumbre Mutual Water Company and Land Trust for Santa Barbara County have struggled to reach an agreement allowing the path to be located in the Modoc Open Space while meeting the terms of a Conservation Easement. Public access rights were provided in the Conservation Easement 25 years ago when Water Company shareholders, who own the land, voted overwhelmingly to approve the easement.

More information about the Path project and the Modoc Open Space can be found on the Trees and Trails Coalition website: https://www.modoctreesandtrails.org/
Information about the County’s plans and the upcoming public workshop is available at the County’s website: https://www.countyofsb.org/modocmup