Construction of a pedestrian, bike and perhaps equestrian trail to connect the most populated 9 miles of the Santa Ynez Valley won’t start for two years, but a jolt of important funding has arrived.
In a 12-0 vote, directors of the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments on Thursday accepted a $1.43 million Federal Highway Administration infrastructure improvement grant secured by the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians.
The money will help design an inaugural 2-mile, wildland leg of the trail along the riparian Santa Ynez River bed next to Buellton—from River View Park to Ballard Canyon Road.
“This is a dream come true,” said Santa Barbara County Supervisor Joan Hartmann, an SBCAG director whose Third District includes the valley. “It will define the valley like the Ojai Trail does up there. It will connect people. Many of the tourists won’t have to get in their cars. They’ll be able to go on bikes. It’s tremendous.”
Multiple goals
The aptly named Santa Ynez Valley Trail will someday wind nonstop from Buellton to and through the interior of Solvang, past the town of Santa Ynez and the Chumash Casino Resort, and all the way to Highway 154, officials say.
The trail aims to boost recreation and businesses and link neighborhoods.
SBCAG is collaborating with the affected cities, the county government, Caltrans and the Chumash to confirm specifics and secure financial support.
The new funding is the largest chunk of a combined $2.6 million in local, state and federal investment toward mapping, environmental studies and other pre-construction activities needed to get the Buellton portion shovel-ready to break ground in 2028.
The total cost of the full project hasn’t been determined.
The Solvang stretch
While the Buellton length will run along the riverbed, the trail’s path through Solvang is still undecided.
“We’re trying to decide which windmill we want it to go by,” said Solvang Mayor David Brown, drawing laughs at Thursday’s hearing.
If possible, portions serving Solvang should double as emergency evacuation routes, Supervisor Hartmann suggested.
“Solvang is in really dire straits if there’s a fire,” Hartmann said. “You can just be stuck on (Highway) 246 with nowhere to go.”
Easements and connections
East of the Solvang town center, the trail is expected to connect to an existing bike path that runs along the northern side of Highway 246 from roughly Alamo Pintado Road to Santa Ynez Valley Union High School.
That existing stretch as part of the project will likely receive some subtle improvements, said Fred Luna, SBCAG project delivery and construction director. “We have to make sure that the connections work.”
In addition, easements will need to be established across unincorporated private agricultural and farm land sandwiched between the Buellton and Solvang city limits.
What the path might look like from the high school to Highway 154 is still undecided.
And where or whether equestrians might use the trail still needs to be sorted out.
Caution from Lompoc
Adjacent to Buellton and across the Santa Ynez Valley, numerous improvised paths already crisscross the riverbed. People regularly use them to hike, walk dogs or go swimming when the river is high.
At times, homeless people build encampments along the river.
Separately, graffiti is common.
In Lompoc, public access trails have created challenges, Lompoc Mayor Jim Mosby told the SBCAG board.
“We spend hundreds of thousands of dollars every year cleaning up along our trails,” Mosby said, adding Lompoc residents became afraid to use them. “You’ve got guys down there living with guns, and they’ve got dogs.”
When Lompoc added lights, he said, thieves stripped the wires.
“Understand it all sounds rosy and great,” Mosby said. “People can go from A,B, C, D all the way to F, but just make sure they can be safe… There are thorns on a lot of those roses.”
Fourth District Supervisor Bob Nelson, chair of the SBCAG board and the county Board of Supervisors, suggested planners make ongoing public safety a formal part of the project.
“Maintenance and patrols or whatever that enforcement looks like, that should probably be something that’s considered,” Nelson said.
Public input
Representing Move Santa Barbara County, Executive Director Sarah Iannarone said her organization is highly supportive of the trail. She urged SBCAG to convene a group of key stakeholders who can speak to public safety, access, business and tourism impacts, e-bikes and potential design elements like shade structures.
Move advocates for pedestrians, cyclists and mass transit riders.
“We need to get this stakeholder engagement right on the front end,” Iannarone said. “We’re here to make sure that people who walk, bike, roll and use public transportation have the same freedom and liberty as everyone else in the community.”
