Local Elected Officials Join SBCAG and Caltrans to Announce Start of 101 in Motion.

News Editors/Business Editors/City Desks

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 20, 2004

Highway 101 Implementation Plan Re-named and Launched

as 101 In Motion: Creating Transportation Solutions

Santa Barbara County Association of Governments representatives joined other elected officials and the Caltrans District 5 Director today to announce the official kickoff of 101 In Motion: Creating Transportation Solutions, a project that seeks to identify and program long-term solutions for relieving traffic congestion in the South Coast portion of the 101 corridor. Overlooking the 101 freeway through downtown Santa Barbara and its neighboring coastline, the speakers called on all users of the 101 corridor to get involved and voice their views as solutions are considered to relieve the increasing congestion.

Formerly known as the Highway 101 Implementation Plan, 101 In Motion will be an almost two-year long community-based effort to address congestion throughout the 101 corridor, and to develop plans now to relieve the increasing congestion levels expected over the next 25 years. Through this process, a package of multi-modal solutions will be identified that will provide a blueprint for improving mobility on the 101 corridor within the South Coast region.

"101 In Motion is not a study, but an action plan we can implement in the long- and short-term," said Naomi Schwartz, SBCAG Chairwoman and Santa Barbara County Supervisor (First District). "With the community's help and input, we will identify a set of regional solutions that have community support and will keep us moving forward."

At the event United States Congresswoman Lois Capps (D-23) was presented with a resolution from the SBCAG Board of Directors thanking her for securing $600,000 that went toward this effort. "This funding gets us on the road to fixing the maddening situation of overcrowding on Highway 101. Transportation experts agree that if we can reach consensus on the best way to resolve the gridlock on the 101, we can get started on the solution faster and spend our transportation dollars smarter. That is exactly what 101 in Motion will do," said Rep. Capps.

"Every resident of this County is negatively affected by traffic congestion," said Larry Lavagnino, mayor of Santa Maria and past chairman of SBCAG. "As our County continues to grow in population, traffic is going to get even worse. We all agree that we need to do something. This effort will help the entire County prepare for our future."

The schedule of initial community meetings was also announced this morning: Goleta Valley Community Center (March 9), Cabrillo Pavilion Art Center (March 11), Pea Soup Anderson's (March 16). These meetings will offer the public the first of many opportunities to articulate what they consider the most important considerations toward defining mobility solutions.

Organizers also unveiled two elements of the proactive public involvement campaign designed to keep the community involved in the decision-making process -- the project's interactive web site (www.101inmotion.com) provides visitors with project facts, background on the planning process, news and events, and information on how to get involved, and a 24-hour project toll-free hotline (866-MOVE-101).

"This County's economic vitality depends on us addressing head-on our congestion problems today and in the future as inevitable growth occurs in this region," said Jim Kemp, executive director of SBCAG. "101 In Motion will consider the full-range of options; no one solution will solve the problem alone."

"By initiating public dialogue and building consensus early, 101 In Motion will deliver a strong transportation vision and action plan that will bring about projects several years earlier than possible under the normal environmental approval process," said Gregg Albright, Caltrans District Director (District 5).

101 In Motion, formerly known as the Highway 101 Implementation Plan, will develop and evaluate strategies to reduce congestion along the 101 corridor, focusing on the area between the Santa Barbara-Ventura county line and Winchester Canyon, north of Goleta. The program will assess potential improvements to the freeway, expanding public transit options, changes to local land use policies, and more. 101 In Motion is a partnership between SBCAG, the cities of Santa Barbara, Goleta, Carpinteria, the County of Santa Barbara, the Air Pollution Control District, Caltrans, and the Metropolitan Transportation District. A main objective of 101 In Motion is to build community consensus around a set of multi-modal solutions to relieve congestion in the corridor, involving a broad range of community interests in defining those solutions.