Once the electrical upgrade (at least that’s what appears to be happening) of the Coast Village Road medians is completed, what’s the plan for landscaping, if any? Have you heard anything? —L.
The answer is more complicated than you might think, explains Beth Sullivan of the Coast Village Improvement Association:
The Coast Village Improvement Association has been working with the City of Santa Barbara on a comprehensive upgrade of Coast Village Road and its medians. This is a long and complex process that includes new loading pockets, paving, and critical upgrades to the electrical and water infrastructure, including meters and irrigation systems that have reached their end of life and must be upgraded.
Landscaping will be the final phase and will require significant additional fundraising, since it is far beyond the district’s annual budget. At the same time, the City has been clear that for the plan to move forward, our Improvement District must be extended beyond the current initial five-year term, by a property owner vote. That step is essential because once landscaping is installed, the district—not the City—will primarily be responsible for long-term care and maintenance of the medians.
The proposed landscaping is part of a larger vision that also addresses safety, infrastructure, District identity and placemaking. But it is a phased project that requires approvals, substantial funding, and the continued operation of the district to ensure it can be maintained well into the future.
We will be able to provide visuals following a review by the city.
Got a question you’d like investigated? Email [email protected] or text 917-209-6473.
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Great Question – it is a mess and such an eyesore! The other day some shiftless workers there were aimlessly blowing crowds of dust at us while we dined at Honor Bar
Translation from entitlement to reality : someone was doing their job and it annoyed me.
Pony up funding, Tom.
Tom – don’t listen to poor Sully he is passive agressive 4sure I’ve watched the gardeners come to these medians and blow dirt for the last few years. Having a brain, anyone knows you can’t just full speed with a gas blower, blow dirt. So absolutely valid and not OK to have a bunch of dirt blown next to a restaurant. Just poor management and poor decision making.
This past Saturday I walked the 500 block of State street to check out the $580,000 temporary “pedlets,” and the addition of plants in pots that appear to have come from Home Depot. (price tags were still on the pots). I came away thinking it’s an incredible waste of money. To benefit the eleven businesses that now occupy the sidewalk, although there could be fifteen. $580k seems like a generous amount for one block of State street.
How about seeing what the same amount of money could do for the landscaping on Coast Village Road? CVR is inviting, it’s clean, and it’s open to all modes of transportation.