The street is a major thoroughfare for bikers and pedestrians looking to get from the Westside to downtown.
And for too long, local cyclists say the narrow road and lack of bike lanes along the busy street created a dangerous situation for cars, walkers and bicyclists.
“This has been a major headache for a lot of folks for decades,” said Wilson Hubbell, vice president of the Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition, adding that he feels the bike lanes are a “life saver.”
Browning Allen, the city’s transportation, streets and parking manager, said the project was a decade in the making, and was made possible with a $1.3 million state grant. The remaining $200,000 came from the city’s allotment of Measure D funds.
In one way or another, the project makes traveling the street, which passes beneath a railroad crossing and highway crossing, safer for everyone.
Eva Inbar, president of COAST (Coalition for Sustainable Transportation), said the sidewalks were dangerous because they were narrow and hugged the traffic lane too closely.
The sidewalks also lacked ramps, or curb cuts, which forced anyone in a wheelchair unable to get over the curb to travel the block between San Pascual Street and the Highway 101 on and off ramps in the road.
“I had to get in the street,” said Bonnie Elliott, a wheelchair user who has lived in the neighborhood for 11 years. “It was really dangerous.”
While the bike lanes greatly improve safety for bikers, Santa Barbara city councilmember Grant House said the road is wider as well, which has improved traffic conditions.
In order to make room for the wider sidewalk and bike lanes, Allen said engineers cut into the dirt slope on the shoulders. As a result, a retaining wall was built along each side, and native vegetation was planted to improve the area’s aesthetics.
He said nets were placed beneath the train under crossing to reduce the number of pigeons that roost there, and improvements were made to nearby traffic signals.
Bike lane or not, the section of Mission Street between Modoc Road and Castillo Street have long been known as a route connecting east and west.
Hubbell said a number of agencies and cycling Web sites direct cyclists to Mission Street. He said a common bike route used by the cycling community travels along Modoc or Castillo, where heavily used bike lanes already exist, with Mission Street as the connecting artery.
Before the bike lanes, Hubbell said cyclists would have to use the traffic lane. If there happened to be a red light at the lowest elevation, beneath the train and highway under crossing, he said it was slow going up the hill, and cars would often lose patience, creating a stressful situation for everyone involved.
“This has been a missing link for a long, long time,” he said “One down, a few more to go.”