Old Town Goleta Sees Slipping Sales After Changing Its Stripes

Report Shows Sales Activity Drop Following Controversial Restriping Project

An intrepid driver backs into the new angled parking in Goleta Old Town, which added 19 spaces on the north side of Hollister Avenue and bicycle lanes to each side, while subtracting a vehicle lane in each direction. | Credit: Courtesy

Goleta’s attempts to rein in traffic along Hollister Avenue in Old Town by reducing the number of lanes resulted in 121 inquiries to Public Works, in what is likely the most controversial project to affect the driving public in the city’s historic town center. A report delivered to the City Council on Tuesday evening showed that sales activity had dropped much further than in other parts of the city, county, and state. While traffic delays were about 23 seconds, the safety project had seen traffic speeds decrease and bicycle and pedestrian use increase.

Assessments by residents were mixed. Many averred traffic was “awful” with gridlock in both directions, but mostly eastbound from Fairview to Kellogg. The delay ranged between 15 and 30 minutes, said some, adding they’d been trapped through three to four rounds of a traffic signal. Though speeds had slowed from 31mph to 28mph overall, and collisions were down from 12 to 7, one man had died. Ricardo Hernandez, age 76, was struck by a car traveling 25mph as he and a companion crossed Hollister near Magnolia on Christmas Eve in 2024.

Other residents said they saw more people walking and riding bikes in Old Town. The atmosphere was quieter, thanks to the rubberized asphalt used to repave the road. People reversing into the angle parking had become fodder for video humor.

A lack of parking for customers causes problems for Old Town businesses, but the city has added a total of 19 more spaces, plus three parking lots marked here in blue. | Credit: Courtesy

Due to popular demand, the city’s update was given only 200 days into the project, which started last July, rather than the three years that would have yielded better data. It compared baseline traffic and speed information from October 2022 to data collected during November and December 2024 and January 2025.

The spate of inquiries to Public Works fell off as people got used to conditions. Traffic volume was also down by 2,000 trips a day, from 18,000 to 16,000. Councilmember James Kyriaco recalled that trips had been 26,000 back in 2020.

For merchants represented by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Miguel Avila, the chamber’s president, said business was not good. “They’d all like to see everything go back to the way it was before,” he requested. He also said a microloan program would be welcome.

The sales tax information indicating losses was nuanced, said Shannon Kirn of the City Manager’s office. In the state, sales taxes were down 3.29 percent, 2.35 percent in the county, and one percent in Goleta outside Old Town. Within Old Town, sales tax was down 8.5 percent. Auto dealerships represent more than half the sales taxes for Old Town, and auto sales were down statewide by 10 percent. While sales at auto supply stores were up, repair shop taxes were down, Kirn said, but that wouldn’t reflect all economic activity at the shops because no sales tax was paid for labor costs. Also, sales tax from businesses like restaurants, hotels, food, drugs, building, and construction were up 3-7 percent in Old Town.

Goleta’s graph of a quick survey of sales tax information showed Old Town lagging behind the “citywide core,” which constitutes the rest of the city. | Credit: Courtesy

Public Works’ consultant Derek Rapp | Credit: Courtesy

Construction, of course, is what is causing the traffic delays along Hollister Avenue. The good news from Public Works’ consultant Derek Rapp was that the phase after the next one will see a quasi-roundabout emerge that removes the traffic signals. The signals and the construction were causing a tempest for traffic entering and leaving State Route 217 and for the oncoming traffic along Hollister. The clog of traffic was more than retiming the lights could handle, which they could now do remotely.

Public Works director Nina Buelna said the bridge work was on an expedited schedule because of the work in the creek. They planned to move traffic over to work on the south side of the bridge deck, perhaps by May.

Suggested Solutions

The council had a list of issues it wanted Public Works to address, though the consensus was that some might take time. A crosswalk at Magnolia would require curb changes, for instance, but had been added to the capital improvements list.

Councilmember Jennifer Smith asked about left-turn lanes east of Rutherford to access northside businesses from the eastbound lane. Another suggestion was to add four-hour or employee parking to the Carson Street lot, which was little used. Workers nearby had to move their cars throughout the day. And, could a “bike box” be added to the westbound right-turn lane at Hollister and Fairview? asked Councilmember Kyriaco.

Rapp stated on Tuesday that the majority of collisions in the past were because of left turns, but he’d take a look, as would city staff at lengthier parking on Carson. Similarly, Public Works had discussed what to do with the right-turn lane onto Fairview. Their plan was to paint green bike legends in the right-turn pocket to show where bikes could wait for a green.

“This is a shared lane in a constrained space,” Rapp said. He explained that experienced riders took the travel lane to head across the intersection. The right-turn lane, being a much slower lane, was safer for the inexperienced.

Parking is an issue along Hollister for businesses, shoppers, and residents alike. Ninety-minute parking was enacted to discourage residents from storing their vehicles on Hollister. Three city lots are open on Orange, Pine at Community West Bank, and Carson Street off Fairview: “They’re free,” emphasized Mayor Paula Perotte. Two spots were added in front of Goodland BBQ. And the novel reverse-angle parking helped increase parking by 19 total spaces — although the statistical effect was to lower the usage percentage on the angled side of the street.

Mayor Perotte pointed to the many years the city had taken to hold workshops on the project. Hurting business was the last thing they wanted to do, she said. And delaying the project and watch the cost rise by 10 percent every year was just not a good idea.

To those who wrote and spoke for and against the project, the council agreed to return to discuss it all again, perhaps early next year, and make more changes at a future meeting. “We’re here, and we promised it, and we’ll do it again,” said Perotte.