The Isla Vista Community Services District has released a final draft of parking and mobility plans for Isla Vista, including an enforcement parking compliance program. Residents can leave comments about the reforms via a Google form until Nov. 1, according to the form.
IVCSD finalized parking mobility plan draft and is accepting public comment until Nov. 1. Emma Wang / Daily Nexus
The final draft plan includes three phases. The first phase would enforce compliance with existing parking regulations in Isla Vista, including 72-hour parking limits and towing vehicles that park on red curbs. According to data from a March 12-16 report from a year-long study by Dixon Resources, I.V. has an average on-street occupancy rate — cars parked on the curbs — of 100%, whereas most cities peak at 85%.
“An enforcement pilot could be launched in fall of 2025, and the coordination on educating parents and students could be done by July of 2025, or June, July, when people are starting to accept and start coming to school here,” Abboud said, though the plans are not final yet. “So [with] those things, I think we can see real progress.”
The two other phases are near-term strategies and long-term strategies. According to Abboud, these phases wouldn’t start until phase one strategies are done.
“[Near-term strategies are] the easiest thing to do because there’s not as much red tape. There’s still red tape, just not as much. And it wouldn’t be smart to do the future, the longer term strategies without first having done this,” Abboud said of phase one strategies.
The other part of the IVCSD’s strategy to improve the infrastructure of I.V. is its mobility study. The IVCSD recommended policies to increase services connected to I.V. like the Metropolitan Transit District (MTD) line, policy recommendations like lowered speed limits and signage for bike lanes as well as infrastructure initiatives like making Del Playa a one-way street.
The mobility plan recommendations have already been implemented in some parts, including more lighting in I.V. streets and flashing lights for the crosswalks on Del Mar and Del Norte. The district was able to engage with the community on this plan due to an $80,000 grant in 2021 from the state for mobility solutions.
One of the proposed solutions in phase one is an enforcement compliance program for existing policies in Isla Vista, as they are not consistently enforced currently, possibly through contracting with a company that does the same work for other municipalities, Abboud said.
“Enforcement is on the egregious violations, like blocking a fire hydrant. That’s a health and safety problem. Someone’s house might burn down and they won’t get help because of a car blocking a fire hydrant or a red curb, or access for a fire truck or an ambulance to get to someone’s home. If the whole driveway is full and the driveway and the car is blocking the driveway. How’s the medical going to get in and help somebody out?” Abboud said.
Abboud said the goal for enforcement is on cars that are being underutilized, like if a car is used once a month. “We know that there’s a few 100 cars that never move,” he said, the impetus for the program’s implementation. When it comes to who would ticket and enforce, Abboud said it could potentially be done by contracting through other municipalities, a recommendation from Dixon Resources.
“We’d still set scope of what they’re supposed to do and how to do it, but they could take it on. And then the idea would be that the tickets would fund the program,” Abboud said.
The other parts of phase one include discouraging car ownership through a partnership with UCSB and evaluating options for Camino Majorca, a street which has historically been used by non-residents for coastal access. Community members have suggested a no overnight parking rule and implementing designated coastal visitor parking to support coastal access.
As for near-term strategies, the IVCSD has recommended a residential parking permit program and parking-shared agreements with property owners. A longer-term goal they outlined was identifying opportunities to expand car sharing and parking options outside of Isla Vista.
The long-term strategies include a consideration for street-sweeping regulations, introducing paid parking and establishing a congestion pricing program.
“So much of this relies on others to work with us. So it depends on what, how all those processes go, right?” Abboud said. “For example, the compliance program, we would need to work out agreements with the county since they’re the agency technically in charge. We have the power to enforce parking. That’s one of our special powers we have. But the county still owns and manages the curbs, so we have to work out these agreements and however long they take.”
Feedback to the final draft plan must be provided by Nov. 1. Afterwards, the updated draft will be made public on Nov. 8 and then go to the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors on Nov. 12 for approval.
A version of this article appeared on p. 5 of the Oct. 31, 2024 edition of the Daily Nexus.
