As Friday morning dawned, Goleta’s Old Town woke up to a changed Hollister Avenue: single lanes for cars and bikes in each direction and back-in diagonal parking on the north side of the street. The early-morning drivers seemed sanguine about the transition, although one driver turned from a side street, wandering atop the diagonal stripes before finding the lane of travel.
The city has more striping to complete, as well as installing signs, adding wheel shops, and timing the signal lights as necessary in the Hollister/Old Town phase of its ambitious Project Connect.
As part of its efforts to free up parking in Old Town, the city plans to make all the downtown’s parking 90-minutes-only to encourage turnover. At the council meeting on July 16, one block of Carson Street immediately off Fairview is likely to be converted to 90-minute spots.