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Bridge barrier EIR completed

By DAILY SOUND STAFF — July 10, 2009

Environmental review of a controversial proposal to place suicide barriers along the Cold Spring Arch Bridge on Highway 154 is complete and available for public viewing, Caltrans officials announced.

The state transportation division is proposing to build the barrier to reduce the number of people who have jumped to their death from the structure. While suicide prevention advocates and law enforcement officials have hailed the decision, others have decried the negative impacts to the aesthetic appearance of the bridge and the use of highway safety funds to build the barrier.

Since its construction in 1963, the Cold Spring Arch Bridge has been the site of 47 suicides, with 33 of those deaths occurring in the past 25 years.

Caltrans officials said the project would improve safety for both pedestrians and motorists. Construction is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2010. Members of the public may review the completed environmental impact report at www.dot.ca.gov/dist05 or at libraries in Santa Barbara, Goleta, Montecito and Solvang.

Comment on this article

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Environmental review for a fence on a bridge??? : 7/10/2009

Um, am I the only one that is confused here? Why would an environmental review be needed on a fence on a highway bridge? I highly doubt any endangered species have made this part of a concrete highway their home. And we wonder why this state has ran out of money.

jgtSB


Diverting funds to divert suicide-- crazy! : 7/11/2009

Despite efforts over the past two years to stop this deeply flawed and fiscally irresponsible suicide diversion (not prevention) project, Caltrans and project supporters have been hell-bent on proceeding to divert $3.5 million in traffic safety funds/transportation funds to it, and time is running out to put a stop to this craziness. Here is what Caltrans was told over a year ago by one of the members of the California Transportation Commission: “This is not a safety problem; this is not a traffic problem where people would be driving off the bridge. A safety problem is where we have roads that have deteriorated and people have accidents because the roads haven’t been maintained properly– that’s a safety issue. This is not a safety issue, maybe a social issue, but its not a safety issue. I can’t support spending any money on this project. . .” For this reason the Transportation Commission informed Caltrans that no further state traffic safety/transportation funds would be allocated to construct the proposed bridge barriers. This should have been end of this ill-conceived scheme, but now local public officials (acting as the directors of the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments– one representative from each of the eight cities and all 5 county supervisors) are attempting to divert $1.5 million earmarked by them earlier this year to assure timely completion of the Hwy 101 widening project between Milpas and Hot Springs Road in order to give to all of it to Caltrans for the bridge barriers project! These local officials tried to sneak through this funds diversion scheme last month, but they were caught breaking the law requiring that they provide adequate public notice of their proposed actions. So now the matter will come before the SBCAG directors this Thursday July 16 at around 9:00am. This will be the last opportunity to prevent the diversion of funds from the work in progress on the Hwy 101 widening project in order to funnel it to the proposed suicide-diversion barriers boondoggle on the Cold Spring Bridge. Information about the SBCAG hearing on July 16 is online at http://www.sbcag.org/Meetings/SBCAG/2009/07July/SBCAGAgendaJuly09.html where one can also read about this shameful funds-switching scheme (click on item 6.C). Action is needed right now to confront and stop the scheme. This is the probably the final chance for citizens to speak on this issue.

Marc McGinnes


BETTER HOLD ONTO SOME OF THOSE FUNDS : 7/14/2009

Were going ti need some of them to fence the Grand Canyon...

Ross Stiles, Oh No can't be me I'm dead..


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