Isla Vista Street Mural Brings Color and Safety to a Busy Intersection

“You do feel it when you are there. It’s the culmination of an incredible amount of good will and belief in the future of Isla Vista” said Supervisor Laura Capps of new murals painted at Pardall and Camino Pescadero. “And not just about the art but making it a safer place, which is one of my top priorities.”

On May 19, Capps was joined by UC Santa Barbara students, the Isla Vista Community Services District (IVCSD), artist John Khus, and community volunteers to celebrate the new street mural with a ribbon cutting. The four murals were designed by Khus, an indigenous Chumash artist born and raised in Isla Vista.

Khus was offered a list of topics and chose two that were difficult for him, domestic violence and poverty, which impacted him during his childhood and adulthood. The other two he chose were walking and biking — a large part of his childhood in Isla Vista — and aquatic biosphere, which was chosen from his cultural heritage and significance of the Channel Islands.

“It was a wonderful opportunity to actually do something to convey not only my love and appreciation for the community of Isla Vista but for the land itself,” said Khus. “It was also seeing that list of topics and being able to choose stuff that I feel is important now for people to discuss and be aware of.”

The first mural features drawings showing the beauty of the nearby Channel Islands and ecosystem. The second mural depicts two people hugging, to represent domestic violence awareness. The third mural represents the prevalent walking and biking culture in the Isla Vista community. Lastly, the fourth mural shows coins dropping, indicating poverty.

The mural was thought up by members of UCSB’s Gaucho Think Tank. Several other organizations helped gather volunteers to paint the mural, including Santa Barbara County Public Works and the Isla Vista Community Services District.

This project was given a $5,000 grant from the UC National Center for Free Speech and Engagement, under the center’s Valuing Open and Inclusive Conversation and Engagement initiative, and $7,000 from the Isla Vista Community Relations Committee.

“Students approached us wanting to make implementable change during their time as residents in Isla Vista,” said Mark Friedlander, the county’s public works mobility manager. “This project quickly and cost-effectively addresses safety concerns, allows us to test materials and designs, and showcases future infrastructure improvements coming to Isla Vista.”

Gaucho Think Tank is a student-run interdisciplinary group that researches local issues and works with the community and the Santa Barbara government to implement innovative solutions. It was started more than a year ago by founder and president Sanjit Masanam and some friends to create a bigger impact on campus, and this specific project was implemented because of the lack of bike infrastructure in Isla Vista.

“Gaucho Think Tank’s goal is to address community issues through creative and research-driven solutions,” Masanam said. “To see this project improve biker/pedestrian safety, support local artists, and bring the community together is exactly what we envisioned when we pitched this idea.”

Isla Vista is known for having no parking, as well as a large walking and biking culture — as it neighbors UCSB’s campus. The goal of the project was to create a safer space for pedestrians and cyclists at one of I.V.’s busiest intersections by using these curb extensions to offer a preview of what is planned for next year from the county’s Isla Vista Bike and Pedestrian Improvement Project.

The think tank hopes to track data over the next year from an online collision database called TIMS to see if the collision rate has dropped from before the installation to after.

The mural features reflective posts to make the intersection more visible for drivers and pedestrians.

“We have invested millions of dollars into the safety of Isla Vista because it is bike and pedestrian heavy,” said Capps.

The project marked the beginning of infrastructure improvements in Isla Vista. The $9 million state-funded project, marked for completion by 2028, features new sidewalks, crosswalks, and ramp upgrades intended to make intersections more visible and pedestrians feel safer.