Isla Vista Elementary School parents put UCSB’s planned renovation of the Storke and El Colegio intersection through the wringer last Thursday evening during a presentation of an updated design.
Parents are concerned that the new configuration will put schoolchildren in danger when crossing the east leg of the intersection — the crosswalk that connects the route many students take from their homes in Storke Ranch and other nearby residential areas to the elementary school.
The construction will shrink the current three-way intersection by reducing the number of right turn lanes onto Storke Road from two to one. A triangular raised platform called a pork-chop island will replace one of the turn lanes in order to accommodate a new north-leg crosswalk. The idea behind the design is to allow pedestrians to use the north-, south-, and east-leg crosswalks without interrupting traffic making a westbound right turn. Once pedestrians reach the pork-chop island, they will be able to press a light signal that will make incoming traffic stop for a set amount of time.