Freeway and Traffic Problems

     Our Community has dialogued for decades with the issue of traffic congestion associated with Montecito's stretch of the 101 due to the general population gains we have experienced. This segment of the freeway was designed some sixty years ago, long before we were forced to consider the impact of a mega-hotel retail complex proposed by the Caruso Group.

     The narrow, two-lane overpass at San Ysidro Road cannot presently handle peak traffic coming from the Southbound off-ramp. There are often multi-car lineups at this crucial juncture into Montecito. Also, the stub-like on-ramp that feeds onto the Southbound 101 freeway is a consistent problem as it is too small to safely merge into traffic. The backup would make South Jameson Road a consistent traffic nightmare. Caruso's plan replaces the public beach parking on Miramar Avenue with South-facing, diagonal parking spaces on South Jameson. This leaves drivers in a dangerous situation while both backing out into a busy street and then having to turn around in the neighborhood. Caruso's plan has not taken into consideration drivers that are not going to his hotel and their need to safely turn around as there is no South-bound outlet besides the 101 on-ramp.

    This is a situation that is untenable and cannot exist in harmony with a community that has worked for over a century to maintain its bucolic, semi-rural atmosphere.