Santa Barbara rolls out new bike rack plan to meet the growing demand of riders looking for safe places to park their wheels
John Palminteri
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – The City of Santa Barbara is taking out the older “hitching post” bike racks and a newer and more secure plan is about to be rolled out.
A citywide bike rack inventory recently took place. Some of the existing bike racks are old and problematic if multiple bikes are locked up on the posts.
They can also be damaging to the bike frames.
The city also says they are prone to bike theft.
New compliant and secure bike racks will be purchased with both grant money and matching city funds.
The new racks will be the Huntco Rambler Wide bicycle racks with a color of green.
The design and color meet the standards of the city’s strict guidelines for the El Pueblo Viejo Landmark District which is mainly in downtown.
They can be a single rack installation on sidewalks and are designed to minimize scratching to bikes, better security and are built to last without rusting or having other issues for bike riders.
Bike owner Steve Carlton said, “you need a lock that you can get around both wheels and through the frame and on to something that is going to be solid.”
Tyler Dobson was riding downtown and said, “there have actually been a number of times when all of these (racks) are occupied. You have to relegate to a tree or somewhere else and stack it up and you are conflicting with nature.”
The single post racks can be problematic. “These are a little bit tough. There are certain bikes where you can’t lock the u-lock to the frame,” said Logan Valencia. He has even seen the small circular metal ring on the current posts, cut off and presumably the bike locked there, taken away.
Some riders just stop, lock and walk. David Tufts said, “if there is more, it is probably good but usually if there is nothing to tie it to, I just lock it and leave it alone.”
Funding comes in part through the county in the Coastal Resource Mitigation Fund Grant for $56,772, with a City match of $13,928 from the City’s Sustainability and Resiliency Department Budget.
This grant will fund:
6 bike racks at Leadbetter Beach
6 bike racks at Stearns Wharf
6 bike racks at Skater’s Point
64 bike racks throughout the Waterfront in high demand areas.
Depending on the final costs of the racks, there may be the opportunity to install more bike racks.
They will be installed by April of 2026.