The Associated Students Bike Committee secured approximately $1.4 million for the construction of a bike path between the Interactive Learning Pavilion and the UC Santa Barbara Library, with a tentative opening of Fall 2026.
A preliminary drawing of the ILP bike path. Courtesy of A.S. Bike Committee
The Interactive Learning Pavilion (ILP) opened in spring 2023 and was constructed on top of an existing bike path, leaving the area without one. The ILP’s original construction plans included a bike path and a designated bike parking lot, neither of which were built. In order to bike around the ILP, students are currently forced to ride on UCen Road, sharing the road with cars.
Since the ILP opened, the Associated Students Bike Committee (ASBC) has been in numerous conversations with University administrators advocating for a bike path, citing student safety concerns. ASBC Co-Chair and fourth-year geography and sociology double major Anthony Woo said the University agreed to construct the bike path over a year ago, but knew it would be “a really long process to actually make it happen.”
In January 2025, the ASBC began designing the ILP bike path and garnering support for the path’s construction. The path’s design was hand-drawn by Design, Facilities & Safety Services Architect and Program Manager Ernest Knapp and finalized by the Stantec and True Nature Landscape Architecture.
The ASBC is contributing around $920k to the costs and the final third is coming from the chancellor’s office. The ASBC receives funding from a lock-in fee, which Woo says the committee saves and rolls over specifically for large infrastructure projects, like the bike path.
The path’s plan includes two roundabouts, one near the MultiCultural Center and the other by the current ILP bike parking lot. The path will run along the south side of the corridor between the library and ILP where there are currently planters, so the width of the walking path will be unchanged.
While there’s no definite timeline, the ASBC is hopeful that construction will begin this summer on June 15 and be open for use on Sept. 15. Once constructed, the ASBC anticipates that thousands of students will utilize the path every weekday.
With funding and construction plans secured, the ASBC is working toward its next big infrastructure project: the construction of a bike path from the upcoming San Benito Housing Project to the Social Sciences & Media Studies building.
Woo said that beyond large infrastructure projects, the ASBC is committed to bike safety education on campus and making sure the demands of students are heard.
“All we really want is to make sure that the interest of our entire student population is carried forward to the planners and the administrators who come to our meeting so they can carry that forward to whoever they need to,” ASBC Education and Outreach Chair and fourth-year geography major Rita Kharadjian said.
A version of this article appeared on p. 1 of the Jan. 22, 2026 edition of the Daily Nexus.
