••• The Chapala Street bike lane (above) has been extended four blocks, so the southern end is now at Arrellaga rather than Mission. On State Street, however, the city announced that it will be removing the green bike-lane markings between Ortega and Victoria today and tomorrow. (“While the green markings were effective positioning cyclists near the center of the street, the green markings were less effective positioning pedestrians to the sides of the street. Because of this, the city is removing the green markings and exploring other options for cyclists and pedestrians to coexist in the promenade.”) And it released a video about staying safe on State Street that almost makes me wish Costa was involved….
••• From the latest Highway 101 construction update: “The southbound off-ramps at Santa Claus Lane/S. Padaro Lane will reopen October 20 [i.e., today] and at Evans Ave. will reopen October 24 respectively.”
••• Unrelated to Santa Barbara (but perhaps you’ll read about it one day): my husband and I planned a spur-of-the-moment trip to Istanbul, a city we know nothing about. If you have any advice, I’d love to hear it: [email protected].
••• Press release from the city: “The project to restore the Band Shell at Plaza del Mar, one of Santa Barbara’s oldest parks, has secured critical grant funding to continue the planned restoration. […] The project is now ready to move into the construction phase, with onsite work anticipated to begin in early 2023. The PARC Foundation continues to seek donations and local sponsors to fund free community concerts and performances at the Band Shell once the restoration is complete.”
••• The shopping center at 2840 De La Vina Street (with Grocery Outlet as the anchor tenant) recently sold for $14.4 million. It’ll be interesting to see whether the new owner—Granite Peak Integral, about which I could find nothing online—has plans to change it. UPDATE: D. points out that there’s a real estate firm called Granite Peak Partners based here, which makes it the likely buyer.
••• Nice work on identifying the restaurant restroom photos in last week’s Where in Santa Barbara…? The unguessed one, pictured below, is Mesa Verde.
••• Please be careful with the fake spider webs: birds, bees, and other wildlife can get trapped in it.
••• This Eastsider’s use of the stuff, however, is fabulous. Creepy Halloween decor trumps the cute stuff.
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Looks like Granite Peak Integral = Granite Peak Partners (same address). Give them a ring Erik! Curious to know of any plans for the spot where the Chinese restaurant was